


Sound of Pulling Heaven Down

by CSakuraS



Category: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Canon Divergence - Episode 9, F/M, Gen, Romance, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-02-14 08:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 120,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2185311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSakuraS/pseuds/CSakuraS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Simon and Nia hadn't met before her transformation? Now, three years following the destruction of Earth, they find each other at last...but is it too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nia

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting from Fanfiction.net!

A flurry of explosions dotted the landscape of stars. Echoes of light, so blinding they should make one flinch, were now a common occurrence, like blots of paint splattered across a canvas with such frequency that barely any of the white underneath could be seen.

After three Earth years of constant warfare, the Anti-Spirals were on the defensive.

It had long become apparent that the lone Spiral tribe that rebelled against them now was not of the same caliber as those that had been defeated in the past. Even destroying their home planet had done no good in the end, instead only making them stronger, more desperate, with less inhibitions and less compromising to ideals.

Their leader in particular was the greatest threat. He was different from the others. Not only in level of power, but also in confidence and the sheer force of will that fueled his exploits. Every time they were driven to a corner, this man alone would break them out, with such ease that it would seem it took barely any effort.

Yet worst of all was the fact that he would go to any measure, regardless of the harm done to his surroundings, to keep his small crew alive. Entire star systems became tools of war as he manipulated them like the conductor of a mad orchestra, and other Spiral races fell victim to his raids to accumulate resources. And as more time passed, the damage caused to the universe grew more devastating.

The Anti-Spirals now considered this man the Spiral Nemesis incarnate. And this only drove them further to put an end to him. They had already realized that merely stopping their attacks would solve nothing, for this man would still keep fighting, with a relentless fury that at times even frightened his own crewmates.

In their efforts to protect the universe, the Anti-Spirals had created a monster.

But this was of no concern to the Anti-Spiral Messenger. She only did as she was told, following orders with no complaint, mute and obedient as a computer. Though recently, her role had been expanded. She now led the fights herself, appearing before and during battle to taunt the Spirals, attempting to intimidate them.

It no longer worked, unfortunately, but this time would be the last anyhow. She had been given command of the main ships, and this time she appeared before them not as a hologram, but physically right within their own ship.

The humans gasped aloud when she warped onto their main bridge, all except for the captain, who merely raised an eyebrow and waited for her to speak. And so she did, looking him straight in the eyes.

“Give up, humans. You shall now meet your end.”

“We’ve heard that how many times now? Please, just send your ships. I’m getting bored,” the man said, crossing his arms in a sign of impatience.

“Fall to despair,” said she, and sent the ships forward. They warped in uncomfortably close, with cannons aimed and ready. They fired half a second later.

“Shields!” shouted the man simply. The crew responded accordingly, but they weren’t the only ones to hear.

The Messenger turned her head slightly. Suddenly, before hitting the shield, the beams of light began flying around the outside of the ship like a cyclone of fireflies.

“What are they doing?” wondered the aide.

The captain only wordlessly watched the display. After a moment, he gave an order. “Shoot them down.”

To fire their own cannons, the ship had to first raise its shields. It would leave them defenseless for a few seconds, but that short interval was usually enough to shoot down all the enemy missiles.

But the Messenger heard this order too. As soon as the shields were lifted, she nodded, and the beams of light scattered. Then the Anti-Spiral ships put up their own force fields.

The Spiral ship launched its cannons. The beams, having lost their targets, bounced off the force field and came tearing back to their own ship. At such a close distance, and completely surrounded on every side, the Spirals had no way to escape.

The impacts rocked the ship, knocking many of the crew to the floor. Only the Messenger and the captain remained standing upright. She continued staring into his eyes. A small frown creased his face.

The operators began shouting out the list of damages from their computer panels. The man ignored them. The aide ordered for someone to track the enemy beams, and the operators shouted back that they had disappeared in a warp. Amid the confusion, the Messenger moved her head again.

Seeing this, the captain barked at once, “Shields!”

The instant he said this, the Anti-Spirals launched their second volley. The beams hit the shields harmlessly.

The captain ordered to respond with an attack. But as soon as he opened his mouth, the Messenger raised her arm, and at the very same moment the shields were lowered, the Anti-Spirals’ first volley warped back and pummeled the ship.

As the crew regained their balance again, and more damages were announced, the captain’s aide mused out loud. “It’s as if they are reading our minds…”

“Not they. _Her_ ,” said the captain, nodding towards the Messenger.

So he figured it out so soon.

The man smirked. “From this close, she can see and hear everything I command. This is a test of speed. Unless you all can read my mind, she will have the advantage.”

“What should we do?”

The man did not reply. He met her gaze now. They stared at each other as if daring the other to move first, her eyes cold and motionless like the water at the bottom of a forgotten well, his bold and intense as a sunspot.

Indeed, this was a test, but one that he could not pass. Even with all his unlimited power, he was still human, and thus his commands were transmitted on waves of sound. She, on the other hand, was a virtual life form connected to a great hive mind. Her orders were given and received instantly. The victor was obvious. Finally, this war would be put to an end.

But the man continued staring, his gaze trying to detect something in hers. Was he trying to read _her_ mind? Foolish Spiral.

To show him the pointlessness of his effort, this time the Messenger ordered for an attack without moving at all. The Anti-Spiral ships fired. But just when she expected him to order for the shields, the man did something completely unexpected.

He came running toward her, fist raised and swinging directly at her face. Only in the last split second did she manage to warp to safety a few feet away. At the same time, the Anti-Spiral beams hit the ship. The man wobbled on his feet.

“Captain?!” shouted the crew, alarmed.

“Think for yourselves, everyone!” said the man, sounding almost gleeful, as he swung another fist at the Messenger’s face. Again, she teleported, and just as quickly as she reappeared, he was already sending a kick to her side. She avoided this too, and in her mind, ordered for another attack before reappearing again.

They danced across the deck in this way. The good thing was that it kept him occupied, as he chased her around with a grin on his face, the tail of his coat whirling like a whip with every sharp turn. But the problem was it kept her occupied as well. Meanwhile, the aide took over as second-in-command, issuing orders in his captain’s place.

The Messenger had no second-in-command. Even from such short a distance, even with all her mental capacity, it took an effort to continue escaping the man’s physical assaults, ordering the ships to attack, and listening for the aide’s orders all at the same time. The man had found a flaw in their plan, and in doing so, turned the human disadvantage into an advantage.

“What do you think, Messenger?” the man laughed as he swung at her again. “Strength in numbers! Comes pretty handy, eh?”

She had no time to answer. Fifteen of the Anti-Spiral ships had just been destroyed. She needed to concentrate harder on defenses or they would soon be wiped out. She listened hard for the aide’s next order, hearing one word before warping, and catching the end of a word after reappearing. Not enough information. Were the humans trying a new tactic? Would it be wiser to attack or defend? No time to analyze the odds. Another thirty ships destroyed. Perhaps she should defend half of the remaining ships and send the rest to—

Her thoughts were cut short by the man’s leg tripping her feet. Before she could realize what was happening, the Messenger fell to the floor on her back. And suddenly he was on top of her, pinning her arms and legs to the deck, breathing heavily in her face. “Finally caught you!” he announced triumphantly.

The Messenger narrowed her eyes. As if something so simple could keep her from—

The ship rocked from another series of explosions, but this time they were merely aftershocks from the destruction of the remaining Anti-Spiral fleets. The aide ordered “Shields!” and the ship was spared the worst of the damage.

The Messenger’s eyes widened slightly in what was, to her, an expression of shock. The man smirked at her, and drew in closer, so close their noses almost touched, and whispered teasingly, “Fall to despair.”

Those words sparked something inside of her. It was a feeling (a feeling? what is a feeling?) of frustration (is that what it’s called?). A feeling she hadn’t felt in years, no, a lifetime ago. A feeling so foreign to herself as she was now that she could only lie there reeling from it, staring up at the man speechlessly. Soon even he found it strange that she was not teleporting away, for the battle was already over.

His grip on her wrists loosened, but she still lay there beneath him. Giving her a quizzical look, he asked, “What? You like it here?”

Another flash of feeling, this one she couldn’t identify. She didn’t know how to respond (don’t know? why don’t I know? there’s so much I don’t know…). She opened her mouth, but no words came out, only a tiny sound as quiet as a newborn infant’s first breath.

“Ah…”

The man blinked and leaned in close again, trying to hear. (trying to hear? trying to hear…what? me? what do I have to say to him?)

But before she could figure this out, the hive mind issued an order: _Return. Return. What is taking so long, Messenger?_

And without saying anything more, she disappeared.

 

* * *

  

The Anti-Spirals retreated again that day. ‘Retreat.’ It was a humiliation. As soon as they had finished analyzing the data in her body, the upper legions returned to planning the next attack and assessing resources.

For a while, the Messenger had nothing to do. Usually she would stay in stand-by, waiting for the next order. But for some reason, this time her thoughts returned to the battle, and the man, the enemy of the universe, who had triggered that…that _feeling_ in her.

It was an oddity. An impossibility. But this man was well known for making the impossible possible.

She concentrated on him and now saw him in her mind. He was still on the main bridge. Most of the crew had left, with only a few operators remaining. All of a sudden, he looked up, as if he’d noticed her watching him. Calmly, he turned around and spoke to the operators.

They looked up in surprise. Hesitantly, they left the bridge. Now he was the only one left.

She revealed her presence then, floating down from the ceiling to land softly before him on her feet. “You saw me,” she said.

“I _felt_ you,” he corrected her. “I get a chill down my back every time you appear. Now, what do you want? Are you here to talk more about ‘absolute despair’ or have your leaders decided they want a truce?” The final line he said with a trace of amusement, as if thinking he wouldn’t agree to a truce anyway.

“I have not come to deliver a message,” she replied. And said no more.

“All right. Have you come to kill me then?”

“No.”

“To sabotage my ship?” he guessed again.

“No.”

He seemed to be at a loss for words. “…Don’t tell me you came here on your own free will?”

“I do not have free will. I am the Anti-Spiral Messenger.”

“Yes, I know. But you didn’t come here for a purpose?”

Truthfully, she was just as puzzled as he. “I was not ordered to come here.”

He gave her a curious look, dragging his eyes up and down her body. He stepped closer. “Let me ask you a question. Why do you take the appearance of a human?”

“My appearance is a mere remnant of my former self. But it is not who I am.”

He ignored the last part. “Wait, are you telling me you were once human?”

“Yes. I was born on Earth as a human, but in my DNA were hidden the Anti-Spiral genes that awoke and took over my body when the human population reached one million.”

“And that was when you appeared in front of us for the first time?”

She nodded.

The man continued looking at her, taking this in. At last, he said, “Who _were_ you?”

“It does not matter any longer. My life as a human died that night.”

“I don’t care. Humor me.”

She met his eyes. “I was the daughter of the Spiral King Lord Genome.”

His eyes widened in the first genuine look of surprise she’d seen on him thus far.

Of course he would know of Lord Genome. The man who had once been her entire world, but who she now regarded merely as a failed, insignificant Spiral Knight. The same man he’d fought and killed when he was a child.

Finally he spoke again. “I thought all of Lord Genome’s children had died.”

“I was the last. He left me for dead, but a beastman found me and broke open the box that held me. He lifted out my frail body, as I was barely alive, and slowly nursed me back to health for a year. From then on we lived in a small cave at the bottom of a canyon, taking all we needed from the river nearby.”

“Just you and the beastman? Alone?”

“He wanted to protect me. The only human we had ever known was my father, who abandoned me. The beastman saw all the dangers that you humans faced daily, and decided to raise me in the relative comfort and safety that we found in the cave.”

The man shook his head in disbelief. “No wonder. You don’t know anything about humans, do you? You’d never even met one besides your father.”

“I do know about humans. You are a Spiral race, and as all Spiral races, live only to evolve and grow more powerful, consuming everything in your path.”

“That’s only what the Anti-Spirals have told you.”

“It is knowledge based on data collected over many millennia in the past, transmitted to me upon my awakening. It is undeniable fact.”

“That still doesn’t mean you _know_ humans.” He smirked. She couldn’t see what was funny.

He then raised his hand toward her, slowly, and placed it on her shoulder. She glanced at it, not sure what he was doing. He didn’t seem intent to harm her this time.

“For instance…” He brushed his fingers over the skin of her shoulder. He spoke softly. “Do you know how it feels to lose someone you care about? Someone you thought you couldn’t live without, and then knowing that it was your fault he’d left you?”

A feeling rose within her. This one she’d felt often when she was a human. “…Yes,” she answered. “I know.”

He nodded. “Then do you know how it feels to love someone…” He slowly moved his hand across her shoulder. “…and think they might love you back…” His fingers reached her collar bone, pressing lightly at the base of her throat to feel her heartbeat. “…only to find out that they didn’t, and then nothing was the same ever again?”

For a reason she could not identify, she gulped. “…No. I do not.”

He nodded again. But this time his eyes darkened with a look of…contempt? Bitterness? Guilt? She sifted through the list of words available to her via the Anti-Spiral mind link, but none of them seemed to fit exactly.

“…I thought not,” he said. “See? You don’t know me at all.”

Then he brought his hand up to her face, touching her cheek with his palm. The sensation shocked her, like a sudden jolt of electricity, something she knew she had no reason to fear, but she fled anyway, teleporting out of his grasp and reappearing a few steps away. He did not follow.

Cautiously, she put her own hand upon her cheek, still feeling it tingle. But why did her hand feel so much colder than his?

But…no. This was only a trick. He was treating her as a human, trying to make her feel sympathetic. Another pointless effort. She lowered her hand.

“Perhaps you are right. But ‘love’ is a concept that pertains to evolution. You love only by instinct. I have no need for such a thing other than to know that it is a threat to the universe.”

He smirked again. “Instinct, eh? Maybe you’re right. No, you are. You’re exactly right. It’s all instinct. Everything I do is instinct.”

He turned away, his coat swishing behind him, and faced the limitless expanse of space, with all its celestial lights glowing incandescent. “You know, I really don’t give a damn about the universe. I don’t give a damn about preserving humanity either. Maybe _they_ do, but I don’t. Most of it is dead now anyway. All I know, is that there is a power inside of me, so strong, so powerful, that I feel I might explode if I don’t let it out.”

His speech became quicker, less composed, almost manic. “I-I can’t _stand_ peace. I can’t stand it. It eats away at me, makes me think _too much_ , and no matter how much I dig, it won’t go away. This power. I have to let it out. It was smoldering inside of me for so long, and now it can’t stop, I can’t stop, I have to let it out. Do you understand how that feels? No, of course you don’t. You’re just a drone, who came to see me for no goddamn reason.”

He paused, then glanced back at her. “What do you care if the universe is destroyed anyway? Are you enjoying it? Do you enjoy living in it? Do you have anything to lose? No? Then what do you care?"

“It is not a matter of whether I care or not. I am only programmed to do what I am told. It is what I was born to do.”

“’Programmed to do,’ eh? Isn’t that the same as instinct?” He turned to face her again, and putting his hands in his pockets, passed by her, heading for the entrance. “Then maybe we’re more alike than I thought.”

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. The Messenger remained standing there, processing the data.

The man stopped in mid-step behind her. “Oh, one last question. What was your name, when you were still a human?”

“That does not matter any longer. I am the Anti-Spiral Me—“

“I don’t care. Humor me.”

“…It was Nia.”

“Nia,” he repeated, as if tasting it. “All right, Nia. You’d better leave the bridge before the operators come back in. Wouldn’t want to cause a panic, now would we?”

The entrance opened, and he left the bridge.

She still did not know why she’d come.


	2. Simon

Deep within the ship was a giant computer room. Stored there was a massive computer, and in the center of it all, the head of a man once known as Lord Genome.

This, the resurrected memories of a former Spiral Knight, had been the humans’ most important asset in the past three years. It was thanks to his help that they were able to reconstruct the Cathedral Terra after it had crashed into the Earth’s surface, and find the whereabouts of the other Spiral races (though the information was about a thousand years outdated).

Even now he was still used as databank and power source, but as his systems could be accessed via computer from anywhere on the ship, it had been many months since anyone had come talk to him directly.

But some things could only be discussed face-to-face.

“Long time no see, Spiral King,” said Simon, knocking on the glass.

Lord Genome opened his eyes. “Haven’t forgotten me yet, have you,” he said in a monotone voice. “What do you need?”

Barely anyone came into this room anymore, so Simon launched right into his main topic. “I met your daughter the other day.”

“My daughter?” It took Lord Genome about a minute before he seemed to remember. Then he said with a languid smile, “Ahh. Nia.”

“Funny, you never mentioned that the Anti-Spiral Messenger was your daughter.”

“You never asked.”

“Really now? Is that the only reason? It sure took you a while to remember.”

“I have had over a hundred children in my lifetime. I threw every one away before they reached adulthood. The ten or so years they would each spend in my presence were insignificant, unremarkable. It was no different with Nia.”

“Except she became one of the enemy.”

“She was meant to die ten years ago. Do not blame me. If there had been no interference, my actions would have spared you the trouble of dealing with her.”

Simon gave a short laugh. “Sure are up-front about it, aren’t you. I thought I might see at least some hint of remorse, but maybe I expected too much.” He thought for a moment. “I wonder what she would think if she were to see you here.”

As far as he knew, the Anti-Spirals were still unaware that the humans had Lord Genome on their side. He had done a thorough job of hiding this fact, and it was one reason he remained the ace up their sleeve.

“She would think nothing but of how to destroy me. She is now only a tool, with no mind of her own.”

If it had been just a few days ago, Simon would have assumed the same. But now he recalled how she replied to his question when they’d last met.

_“Do you know how it feels to lose someone you care about? Someone you thought you couldn’t live without, and then knowing that it was your fault he’d left you?”_

_“…Yes. I know.”_

“I wonder…” Lost in thought, Simon turned to leave.

Lord Genome called after him. “Why the sudden interest?”

Simon paused. After a moment, he answered.

“Curiosity.”

 

* * *

  

Usually, Simon detested the quiet hours between battles. There were still things to do, but nothing that excited his blood, which left his mind to pick up the pace. But that led to thinking. Thinking led to conjuring up bad memories. And that inevitably led to restlessness that could only be cleared by the adrenaline rush of a life-or-death situation. It had become an addiction for him.

Luckily, now he had something to focus on that was unrelated to anything in his past. It was a mere whimsy, a distraction. Somehow, it amused him to think there might be a soul behind what he’d so long recognized as the face of the enemy.

He returned to the captain’s quarters to find Boota waiting for him. Of course, only he called him that now. After Boota took on a human shape, everyone started calling him “Taboo” instead, for it was hard to believe that the stern figure who served as second-in-command today was once a tiny pigmole. But as far as Simon was concerned, nothing had changed.

“Where were you?”

“Out for a walk. What do you have for me?”

“Damages report.” Boota handed over a clipboard and Simon scanned over the papers.

“Repairs are moving along?”

“They are,” Boota nodded.

“Good.”

Their conversations were short and straight to the point, as always. There was never any need to say more. In the old days, when Boota could not speak, they communicated through similar short statements and squeaks from Boota. If Simon was in a foul mood, Boota would understand his feelings without a word, and try to console him with a lick on the cheek. Simon in turn would quietly thank him with a pat on the head.

Although such interactions were no longer appropriate, the comfort and depth of their friendship remained the one constant in their lives since they were young.

Handing back the clipboard, Simon walked to his desk and sat in his chair. He absent-mindedly looked out the window.

“There’s something on your mind,” Boota commented.

Simon sent him a grin of reassurance. “It’s nothing.”

Nodding, Boota left the room. Simon turned his attention back out the window.

But almost immediately, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

“…Is this going to be a regular occurrence?”

Nia stood in the room.

Simon got up. He came over and stood right in front of her, intimately close, trying to intimidate her. But she only looked up at him, standing her ground, not moving or saying a word. Well, of course that wouldn’t work, he supposed.

He began pacing around her. “It’s been over 48 hours and no word from you people. Are you planning something big?”

“I am not at liberty to say,” she spoke finally.

“Well, if you don’t attack by the time we’ve finished repairs, I’m going to be disappointed.”

Nia continued facing forward, only her eyes following his movements.

He stopped in front of her again. “Am I to assume this is another personal call, then?”

It was very subtle, but a look of confusion crossed her face. Simon grinned. He had to admit he loved getting a reaction out of her.

They stood facing each other for a while as he contemplated what to try on her next. But as it turned out, this time it was she who made the first move.

Nia reached out her arms and touched his cheeks with her hands. Her face showed no expression, but she observed him silently.

Her hands were cold. He shivered involuntarily.

“What are you doing?” he asked. But she responded with a question of her own.

“Why are my hands colder than yours?” Strange, she sounded almost innocent.

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you even use them for anything? You need to get your blood flowing to warm them up.” All of a sudden it was like he was talking to a child.

Her eyes widened slightly. She brought down her hands from his face and looked at them. “…I remember,” she said softly. “I remember the old man telling me…it was a cold day…to do this…”

Closing her eyelids peacefully, Nia cupped her hands around her mouth and blew into them.

It was… _adorable_.

For once, Simon felt caught off guard. It was something so simple. But it came out of nowhere. Was it an act? Or actually for real? Was she even aware of what this was doing to him?!

And this…was the face of the enemy?

After she finished blowing, Nia lowered her hands and reached for his. She did not seem to notice his mouth hanging open. She placed her hands in his hands and made him feel them. Sure enough, just a touch of warmth lingered on her skin, heated by her own breath.

“…Whatever you just did, it might have worked,” he said.

Then the door opened behind them and the moment was over.

 

* * *

  

Boota walked up to the entrance of the captain’s quarters. The automatic door slid open before him. And there, inside, he saw his old friend standing with the Anti-Spiral Messenger, holding her hands.

“…”

First of all, Boota decided it would be smart not to let anyone else see. He stepped inside, letting the door slide closed.

None of them said anything. Tactfully, Simon let go of the Messenger’s hands.

“Are we under attack?” Boota asked finally.

Simon and the Messenger shook their heads.

“Do we have a truce?”

More shaking.

Boota decided to say no more and wait for an explanation.

“We’re just talking, you know. In our spare time,” said Simon, managing to sound casual. He turned to the Messenger. “But you will let us know when we’re under attack?”

“Only if I am ordered to. We may surprise you.”

“That’s fine too,” Simon shrugged.

The Messenger narrowed her eyes. “Do not assume that we are on friendly terms. I may have been sent here to gather information on you.”

Simon smirked. “You think I haven’t thought of that? Who the hell do you think I am? I might even be doing the same thing to you.”

It may have been just his imagination, but the Messenger now looked like she was pouting.

Boota sighed. “Fighting the enemy even in your spare time?”

“Gives us something to do, doesn’t it?” Simon said.

Boota nodded. Well, if this was what Simon wished to do, then he had no complaint. Even if it turned out he was mistaken, Boota considered it his duty to stick by his friend and support him for good or ill, no matter what.

Of course, it would be wise to keep this from the rest of the crew. He could not imagine they would take lightly the fact that their captain was flirting with the enemy.

As he thought this, the Messenger’s breasts caught his eye. They weren’t as voluptuous as the type he usually preferred, but had a nice shape to them all the same. Truthfully, Boota sometimes regretted not being as small as he once was anymore. Being this size made things so much more complicated when he—

An elbow sharply jabbed him in the ribs. Boota looked up to see Simon shooting him a glare that clearly read _Don’t. Even. Think About It._

Very well. Message received.

Moving his line of sight above the Messenger’s shoulders, he noticed that she was looking at him now.

“This is the one who took charge on your behalf in the last battle.”

“That’s right.”

“It would be so easy to kill him right now…” she said, her eyes glimmering red.

Simon laughed. “You’d might as well try killing me first, because that’s not going to happen as long as I’m around.”

Boota cleared his throat. “I would rather you not underestimate me, Messenger. One does not live with _him_ for long without amassing Spiral Power. I will put up a fight, I promise you.”

“And that is why he trusted you to take over in his place?” the Messenger asked him.

“Yes, you could say that.”

The Messenger seemed to think this over. (Oh dear. Now he would have to prepare for the possibility of the Anti-Spirals including him in their calculations.) She opened her mouth to say something again, but froze.

When she did not move for ten seconds, Boota exchanged a perplexed look with Simon, who waved a hand in front of her eyes.

And then the Anti-Spiral Messenger disappeared.

This could only mean…

They grinned at each other, as the thrill of incoming battle began coursing through their veins.

“I will alert the crew,” said Boota.

 

* * *

  

They were all assembled on the bridge when the Messenger appeared again, this time back to her usual role as a gigantic hologram floating in space before their ship.

“Foolish Spirals. Today you will meet your end.”

“Bring it on!” Simon yelled.

Boota glanced at him, wondering how he would react to seeing her this way after just being with her in person minutes before.

Simon looked amused, if anything, with barely contained energy underlying his pose.

“As you wish.”

The Messenger disappeared. In her place hung the emptiness of space. No ships, no mecha, no missiles. Silence.

The crew murmured among themselves. “Why isn’t anything happening?”

Simon and Boota waited on edge, looking for any sign of movement.

When suddenly— FLASH!

Everyone compulsively jammed their eyes shut. A blinding light tore at them from all corners, and with it, a staggering heat.

“Put up the Spiral Shields! All of them!” Simon ordered, shielding his eyes with his sleeve. “What’s happening?!”

The operators somehow got to work. With all the shields in place, the light and heat lessened, but only slightly. And as time passed, the temperature only climbed higher.

“They’re— they’re warping something at us!” said Cibela.

“What?!”

Cibela squinted at her computer. “Target identified! It’s— it’s a star!” She gasped. “The Sun! They’re warping the Sun right into our path!”

A shockwave of horror ran through the crew.

“Dear god…” someone said.

Boota ground his teeth. “Those bastards…” First they used the moon against them, and now their own sun?

Someone cackled. It was Simon. Soon he threw his head back and broke full into maniacal laughter, which echoed across the bridge in a rising crescendo.

“…Turn the ship around!” Boota shouted. “Engines at full power! We need to put as much space between it and us as possible!”

“We’re on it!”

The ship blasted away at top speed, but the heat still did not abate. The Sun continued gaining on them. Solar flares reached out to grab at them like flaming claws, and the rumble from thousands of nuclear explosions rang in their ears. The ship was only a tiny speck set against the backdrop of the yellow star.

“How much of the Sun has come out from the warp?”

“5.02% of its total diameter!”

“This is as fast as we could go! We can’t outrun it at this rate!”

The crew was beginning to panic. Every one of them was now drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. The bridge had become a sauna, with heat waves running across the deck like invisible snakes.

And then Simon stopped laughing. His laughter had been reverberating in their minds for so long that it took a moment for them to notice.

As they watched, Simon calmly took the Core Drill hanging from his neck and clenched it in his fist. “Halt the engines! Spiral Perceptual Teleportation System on!” he ordered. “Cibela, search the coordinates for the nearest black hole!”

“…Uh…yes, Captain!”

The Core Drill in Simon’s hand began to glow, a vibrant green that soon grew in intensity to rival even the Sun’s rays. The Spiral Gage skyrocketed.

Boota realized what he was planning. “Focus all of the ship’s power into the Warp Capability Drive!”

“Yes sir!”

“Captain, I’ve got the coordinates!”

“9.01% of the Sun’s diameter is out!”

“Spiral Perceptual Teleportation System ready to be implemented!”

The crew was hard at work again, setting aside their fears and putting trust in their leader.

Simon’s grin grew wider. “Spiral Perceptual Teleportation System, lock on the Sun! Set warp coordinates for the black hole!”

At last, they all understood. “Yes, Captain!” The Spiral Gage rose even further as the crew regained hope.

“Target locked!”

“Coordinates set!”

“9.06%!”

The Sun was getting closer. Only a minute more and the ship would be cooked completely.

“WARP!”

The Sun became enveloped in a bright green light. It was now sandwiched in between two warps.

“Anti-Spiral warp now out at 10.15%.”

“How far is ours?”

“Still 0.000089%!”

“Estimates on how long it will take?”

“At least five hours, sir!”

“Then we’ll just need more power, won’t we?” said Simon, and began roaring at the top of his lungs. The Spiral Gage rose again. The speed of the warp increased.

This went on for three hours. The heat was unbearable all the while, but Simon never gave up. Spurred on by this, the operators continued working as well, though a few of them fainted from heat exhaustion along the way.

And finally…

“Anti-Spiral warp is now complete! We’ve reached 92.58%!”

“We’re almost there!” said Boota encouragingly. He glanced at Simon to see how he was faring. His friend was dripping sweat, voice steadily growing hoarse, but still he stood steadfast. It was impressive how long he could hold out like that, but after all these years, Boota expected no less from him.

“99.7%! 99.8%! 99.9%! Warp complete!”

With a flash, the Sun disappeared from view. The temperature dropped back to normal. The blackness of space returned, and they were all left blinking, as if an overhead light had been switched off, leaving them in darkness.

Simon staggered back, and Boota caught him, supporting his weight with an arm. For now, all Simon could do was pant from exhaustion.

“How are the damages to the ship?” Boota asked, turning his head back to the operators.

“Very bad! I’ll put up the visuals.”

Diagrams showing the status of various sections of the ship appeared on the main screen. Everyone groaned. “The entire surface of the hull has been melted. All hatches are welded shut. Cannons are non-functional…” The list was very long.

“How long will it take to repair all this?” Boota sighed.

“Earliest estimate is…three months, sir.”

“We’ll do it in a week,” Simon said, straightening up.

The crew was speechless.

“The enemy won’t wait for us to fix our ship. They can still attack at any minute. We need to be ready for them. The most priority will be put to repairing the hatches and cannons. For the next week, Gunmen will be our main line of defense. We’ll all sleep in shifts. Anyone have a problem with that?”

They all stared. Only Tetsukan mumbled from his seat, “Doesn’t make much difference to me. I never get sleep anyway…”

“Good. Call someone up from the galley, everyone here needs a drink.”

Too tired and daunted by the thought of all the hard work ahead, the crew got back to work without a word of complaint.

Boota put a hand on Simon’s shoulder. “I’ll take it from here. You should go and rest.” Though he tried not to show it, Boota could see that Simon was the most tired of them all.

Simon nodded. “Thanks.”

 

* * *

  

A short while later, Nia appeared in the man’s room again.

The Anti-Spirals weren’t yet aware that she had been visiting the enemy. They hadn’t analyzed her body since the last battle, but it would only be a matter of time before they realized. Depending on how they took the information, this might be her last opportunity to see him this close.

She found him sitting in his chair, utterly spent from the previous endeavor, lost in a deep sleep. This way, he did not look very threatening. Fascinated, Nia reached out to touch his face, but he caught her wrist in his hand at the last second.

“I can feel you, remember?” He smiled, though his eyes were still closed.

She retrieved her hand from his grip. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was.” He opened his eyes, giving her a sleepy but amused look. “You must have a lot of spare time.”

This time she had come up with a reason. “You are interesting to observe.” It was true.

“Likewise. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself, but you have different sides.”

Different sides? Like a polygon? She did not understand. She told him so.

“Never mind. …Do you even know my name?”

“Do I need to?” She had no problem identifying him; he was already unique in her eyes.

He shook his head. “See, that’s why I said you don’t know much about humans.” He waited.

When she did not say anything, he spoke for her. “My name is Simon. Say it for me.”

“Simon.”

“…Again.”

“Simon.”

He closed his eyes and sat back, a satisfied smile on his lips. “Thank you. I think I’ll have good dreams tonight.”

Puzzled, Nia continued watching as Simon went back to sleep. For someone with his defenses down while an enemy was in the room, he looked remarkably comfortable.


	3. Yoko

For the first time in years, the crew on board the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren was in a celebratory mood.

This was for several reasons. First, against impossible odds, the repairs for the ship were finally completed, and just in time for the one-week deadline. Second, the Gunmen pilots had been able to give their all in the past week of battles, with no casualties. Third, the monthly report from the colony was due today.

Though tired, everyone milled about the hangar in relatively high spirits.

“Man, are those Anti-Spirals getting weak or what? It took barely half an hour to finish them off this time!” Kittan said, climbing out his King Kittan.

“Heh, I bet we just got stronger!” Zorthy laughed from nearby, lighting a cigarette.

Yoko said nothing as she exited the Dayakkaiser, though she felt a distinct sense of déjà vu from their conversation.

“Hey!” Someone called from across the hangar. It was Gimmy. “Would you guys stop taking all the good shots? You’re making us look bad here!”

“Not our fault you Gulaparls aren’t fast enough!” Kidd taunted.

“Yeah, you’ve gotta stop hanging back if you want to score some shots!” Zorthy piped in.

Gimmy stomped over. “It’s called _defensive strategy_ ,” he said, looming over Zorthy and jabbing a finger in his chest. “If you veterans had any discipline instead of just jumping straight into battle, then maybe _we_ wouldn’t have to pick up your slack!”

“Whaddya say, you brat?!”

“Come on, you two,” Kittan jovially slapped them both on the back. “Let’s give it a break for today, all right? Come to think of it, you’re almost an adult now, aren’t ya, Gimmy?”

Gimmy blinked. “Uh, yeah. So?” He was tall enough to be eye-to-eye with Kittan now.

“So…” Kittan swung an arm around his shoulders and whispered confidentially. “Been with any women yet?”

Gimmy reddened slightly. “Wha—what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Look at that face! Bet he hasn’t!” Kidd pointed and laughed.

“All work and no play won’t do a body good. You’d best hurry up or you’ll never get any,” said Iraak slyly.

“Maybe if you learn to respect your elders more, I can give ya a few tips!” Zorthy leered, flicking his cigarette.

“Or _maybe_ you men should speak for yourselves before you start teasing someone half your age,” Yoko said coolly, butting in. “Besides, Gimmy’s seen enough female anatomy for his age. Right, Gimmy?” She winked.

Gimmy turned even more red as the other men blinked blankly. “Wait…you don’t mean…” Kittan faltered, staring at her.

“Guess who saw me and your sisters in the nude at the hot springs ten years ago?”

“WHAT?!” The arm around Gimmy’s shoulder turned into a chokehold. “You little—“

Amid the laughter and envious glares from the rest of the Gurren Brigade, Kittan’s death threats, and Gimmy’s protests that “I was just a kid! I didn’t do anything!”, a buzzer sounded.

Everyone froze. As they listened, Cibela’s voice made an announcement. “Transmission from the Habrilis star system coming in. All crew, please gather to the nearest—“

With a roar, everyone dashed toward the monitor. Kittan and Gimmy were at the front of the line. Of course, they wanted to hear news about their families.

But Yoko stayed put, forgotten by the others in their haste. When she turned, she found that only two other people remained in the hangar who weren’t gathered around the screen. Leite, who solemnly continued working to repair a damaged Space Gulaparl unit, and Makken, who silently put a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

Yoko stayed behind for a moment to watch them in sympathy. After three years, their wounds must still be fresh. She thought she could understand. After all, she’d lost her children too.

 

* * *

  

Rossiu’s voice echoed around the ship from the numerous video monitors broadcasting the report. As she walked down the hall, Yoko passed rooms in which every person stood watching attentively, many of them clearly having halted right in the middle of work.

The reports all followed the same pattern— first, updates on how the colony was faring, all recent hardships and breakthroughs, announcements of any deaths or births. Then came the shout-outs from people living on the colony to their friends and loved ones on the ship, which were always greeted with cheers and, sometimes, tears.

Yoko used to watch these along with the rest of the crew, but lately she found herself skipping them more often. Was it apathy? No, not exactly. But to care for something so much, only to see it blown up right in front of her face time after time…it got tiring after a while. Besides, she would hear all the important news from the others eventually.

Truthfully, though she tried not show it, the incident with the Sun had hit her particularly hard. After everything she’d promised, the Earth, the moon, the Sun— all that once made up the beautiful sky Kamina had loved were now gone. No one would blame her if she felt a little depressed. But there was always work to be done, so this was how she handled it. On her own time. Alone.

Hoisting the strap of her rifle on her shoulder, Yoko approached the common room. The doors slid open, and she entered. The room was usually sparsely filled, it being used mainly as a place for people to sit and take a breather in between shifts. Its only features were several lines of couches, short tables, and the window that took up an entire wall.

At once, she noticed the only occupant of the room, and probably one of the few people other than herself who wasn’t busy watching the report at the moment. Simon stood next to the window, his back facing the door. His face was reflected on the glass.

She saw his eyes glance at her reflection, then look away. He’d noticed her as well. But he said nothing.

Yoko did not bother with a greeting either. She walked to a couch and sat down, setting the rifle on the table and pulling out cleaning utensils from her pockets. The rifle hadn’t been used for a long time now, but she still carried it around out of habit. Everyone needed at least one thing that never changed, and in her case, it was this. Taking care of the rifle always calmed her.

As she began taking it apart, she glanced up at Simon. He just stood there, stoically watching the stars passing by.

“Aren’t you going to watch the report?” she asked him casually.

“Rossiu sent me an abbreviated version. I’ll look through it later,” was his reply.

“Is that really okay? You are our captain, after all.”

“My job is to lead the fight, not worry about horticulture.”

As she thought, he didn’t care either. But at least he was responding to her this time.

For years, there had been an unspoken rule among the Gurren Brigade— Simon wanted to be left alone. Though he led them with authority, the only one he ever confided in was Boota. Perhaps if things had been different, the guys would be joking and teasing him like they did with Gimmy now. But as it was, on a personal level, he was almost a stranger.

It started ten years ago. Ten years. The day that Kamina died. Simon had never been the same since then. Kamina's death affected them all, but it struck Simon the hardest. In the weeks after, he continued growing worse and worse, until finally they had no choice but to leave him behind, dropping him off along with Boota and Lagann at the nearest village, and continued on.

They fought hard and long in the following months, suffering many casualties. And when they made it to the final battle at last, it proved to be too much for them. All seemed lost until suddenly, Simon appeared, almost out of nowhere, saving their lives and defeating the Spiral King in a stunning display of power and brutal violence…

Sometimes, Yoko wondered if she was the only one who still remembered what he was like in the beginning: just a kind and timid boy. Now…he was like Kamina now, but so unlike him, and for all the wrong reasons. Never phased, always confident, often grinning, but never did it seem like he was truly _smiling_.

Maybe, after Kamina died, if she had reached out to him instead of keeping all her feelings to herself, it wouldn’t have turned out this way. But that thought only came to her later, when she saw him again, three years ago. Another awful anniversary. The day the Earth was destroyed.

If only they had more time, if only she’d found Simon sooner, if only he’d had prior warning, then maybe they might have been able to stop the moon after all…but instead, they just barely managed to escape with their lives. Others— many, many others— were not so lucky.

It was like Kamina had died all over again. The only difference was that now there wasn’t even a grave to visit.

Again, Simon completely lost it. For weeks, he went after every Mugann in sight with a furious desperation, alienating everyone he knew while spiraling deeper into madness. During that time, all they could do was be thankful that he kept the enemy at bay while they made plans for preserving what was left of humanity.

Then came the quiet period. Whenever there was no fighting, Simon locked himself in seclusion with Lord Genome, questioning the former Spiral Knight for hours on end. Perhaps it was because they were on near equal levels of Spiral Power, but Simon seemed to be able to dig more information out of him than anyone else, and began building plans of his own out of earshot. When Boota evolved into humanoid form, he became Simon’s unofficial messenger for the rest of the Gurren Brigade. That was how he passed on to them the news that the moon was once Lord Genome’s flagship.

The rapid-fire series of breakthroughs that followed changed everything. Like he had done at the Battle of Teppelin, Simon emerged anew and gave humanity a fighting chance to survive. Again, he taught them that with burning determination, anything was possible. But he still remained as distant as ever.

So this time, Yoko _did_ reach out to him.

When things had calmed down a little, as they trekked across the galaxy in search of a new planet, she approached him again and again. She knew that they were the only ones who could truly relate to each other, and he must have thought the same, for he did not complain.

They had a relationship, if one could even call it that, on and off for about a year. Yoko tried her best to connect with him, letting out all her feelings for once, but he would never fully reciprocate, only nodding or making non-committal noises to her words, though he was clearly listening. Sometimes that was enough. But it soon began to frustrate her how he always held back, whether because he was disinterested or hiding something, she could not tell. And whenever she touched on the subject of Kamina— the one subject only he would understand, that she _needed_ to talk about— he turned completely silent.

Finally, she gave up when she realized that he was only going along with it out of boredom. After that, they had neither seen nor spoken a word to each other. Until now.

Yoko glanced up from her rifle. Simon still stood staring out into space. She wondered what could be on his mind.

“Hey, Simon?” she asked. After everything that had happened, she still persisted in calling him on familiar terms.

But he didn’t respond.

“Simon?”

Still nothing. He wouldn’t just ignore her, would he?

She tried again, louder. “Simon, can you hear me?”

That finally seemed to jolt him back to reality. “What?”

“Distracted?”

He shook his head. “Not really. What do you want?”

“I don’t _want_ anything, I just wondered…if you were okay.”

“With what?”

“The Sun.”

“What about it?”

Yoko sighed, already starting to feel frustrated. “Never mind.” Times like this made her feel unsure whether what she _thought_ he might be feeling was all in her head; whether he had changed so much that she couldn’t even relate to him anymore on the most basic things. But he had to be feeling _something_. If only there was a way to tell if he was just avoiding the subject…

She finished cleaning the rifle parts and put them back together. The report probably should be ending soon. Her moment of quiet time was over.

Standing up and slinging the rifle over her shoulder, Yoko came to stand by Simon’s side. “Do you remember the day we first met?”

He gave her a dubious glance. “Yeah?”

“And do you remember when we came out from underground, and the sky was so beautiful?”

His expression changed ever so slightly as he recalled the memory. “…Yeah.” That was the first time he’d seen the surface; of course he’d remember.

Yoko smiled to herself, relieved that they still had at least that in common. A number of sad thoughts entered her mind along with the memory, but she decided not to voice them out loud, wanting to hold onto this moment instead.

Then, still facing the window, Simon spoke. “Don’t give into despair, Yoko. That’s just what they want. So what if they ruined our solar system? We’ll destroy theirs. Simple as that.”

So he understood what she meant after all. Yoko blinked in surprise. “Is that supposed to comfort me?”

He shrugged.

“Well, I appreciate the sentiment.” She leaned on him a little. Strange, how he could be annoyingly aloof in one moment and unnervingly straightforward in the next. But maybe that mindset was what allowed him to stay strong all this time. “Simple as that, huh?”

“Yeah. Piece of cake.” There was not a trace of doubt in his voice.

She looked up at him. “You’ve sure grown to say outrageous things easily, haven’t you.” It really did remind her of someone…

He looked down at her. She touched his chest. He did not complain.

And before she knew it, by instinct or force of habit, their bodies fell back into the old routine.

 

* * *

 

 They somehow made it to her room before the clothes started coming off. Flashes of sensations— heavy breathing, groping hands, warm skin, the tip of the Core Drill tickling her chest. And at the pinnacle, she heard a whisper, a hoarse moan of a name in her ear…a name that wasn’t hers.

When they were done, he rolled over at once, and as soon as his breathing had calmed, climbed out of bed to begin putting on his clothes. So, he wouldn’t even stick around for some pillow talk…

Yoko watched him blearily for a moment before asking. “Simon. Who’s Nia?”

His back stiffened. “…That’s none of your business,” he finally answered.

“None of my business?” Yoko sat up. “None of my business? You were saying her name!”

Simon went to the other side of the room to pick up his coat, pulling it on in a hurry.

She balled her hands into fists. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Yoko heard him mutter under his breath as he went to the door. “Not like you haven’t been doing it yourself.”

“Excuse me?! That’s not— I haven’t— You think I— You…you bastard!“ Shocked and indignant, Yoko threw her pillow at his retreating back. It hit the door as it slid closed.

Afterwards, sitting there alone in the dark, she choked down the urge to cry, churning it into rage instead. Grabbing her clothes, she left for the showers, which were thankfully unoccupied.

“That bastard!” She slammed her fist into the wall repeatedly as the warm water washed her sweat away. So all this time he’d been thinking she only came to him for…and to think she’d been _worried_ for him…and he just _used_ her!

“Bastard!” She felt disgusted, insulted, belittled. And who was this ‘Nia’ anyway? Why didn’t he just go have sex with her if he was going to be thinking of her in the first place?!

That thought stayed in her mind as she dried herself off and dressed. She left the showers, stomping down the hall with new purpose.

Against her luck, she spotted Kittan coming from the opposite direction, still clearly in a good mood. “Hey, Yoko!” he waved. “Where were ya? You didn’t miss the report, did you? Man, Anne’s grown so big…”

Yoko continued facing forward, trying to ignore him. No offense to Kittan, but she did not want to deal with any more men at the moment.

“Yoko?”

She passed by him without a word.

“Hey!” He grabbed her hand from behind. Yoko finally turned and found a look of concern on his face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine!” She tugged her hand out of his grasp.

“You don’t look—“

“It’s that time of the month, okay?!”

As his face reddened in a blush, she found her opportunity to escape and hurried away.

Her destination was the nearest empty computer room. She slid into a seat and immediately began accessing the ship’s database. Finding a list of the ship’s crew, Yoko typed in the name “Nia” and began a search.

A couple of minutes later, no matching result. Yoko frowned, then began a search for the name in the list of survivors from the Earth’s destruction. If said person were still alive, they’d have to be on the colony…no wonder he couldn’t be with her. But then why wouldn’t he be interested in watching the report?

Another few minutes later, and still no result. Yoko sat back, pondering. Could it be someone he knew on Earth while she was away? Then that person would have to be dead…

She sighed, her anger starting to fade away. How could she blame him then? It was exactly the same situation she was in… And maybe he was right after all; maybe she had been using him too…

Yoko laid her head in her arms. “’Don’t give into despair,’ hm? Easier said than done…”


	4. Kamina

Yet another defeat. It was hardly surprising now. They were starting to become desperate. Allowing this war to continue for any longer would result in even more damage to the universe, not just by the humans’ hand, but by the Anti-Spirals’ own. They had to bring it to an end quickly. By any means necessary.

And so, the time had finally come for them to analyze her again.

As they combed through her memories, Nia sensed that they were surprised by her recent excursions.

_Messenger. Why did you act without orders?_

Nia did not answer. She had no answer. The Anti-Spiral sensed this as well, and continued rummaging through her mind.

_Now what is this...?_

They paused on a memory from the first time she’d visited him and played it back.

_“Do you know how it feels to lose someone you care about? Someone you thought you couldn’t live without, and then knowing that it was your fault he’d left you?”_

The Anti-Spirals had very little information on the enemy. Their purpose in inserting a Messenger gene in the Spirals’ midst had been to gather information, but unfortunately, Nia had grown up sheltered from humans and thus had little to share. But this looked very promising.

_How interesting. The enemy seems to have an attraction to you._

An attraction? But how could he possibly…

_Yes, it is quite foolish of him. To knowingly become involved with a virtual being with no mind of its own. Instinct will drive the universe to destruction, but perhaps we can turn it against him first…_

Did this mean they approved of her actions? Nia did not expect that. She had thought she would be forbidden from going again.

They played back all the moments from the past two weeks. The way he touched her, looked at her, toyed with her… And her own reactions to his advances, subtle and slight but still there nonetheless. They saw everything.

_Yes…very interesting._

The Anti-Spirals spent a while deliberating before coming to a conclusion.

_Search out his weaknesses. Go often and stay as long as you can without arousing suspicion._

A new order. Essentially, they were telling her to do exactly what she had already been doing, only for an express purpose. From now on, their time together would be used against him. Knowing this made her realize that she never had any intention to harm him in the first place. They merely came together out of mutual curiosity, an island of peace in a sea of warfare, both knowing their own roles but choosing to briefly set them aside. Now, she would be approaching him as an enemy through and through. Somehow, this was…disconcerting.

But she accepted the order without complaint.

 

* * *

  

She went to him the next time that she sensed he was alone. Simon had just stepped into the captain’s quarters when she appeared next to his desk.

“That was fast,” he commented. “You didn’t even give me time to sit down.”

Nia said nothing, not even looking in his direction. Instead, she glanced at the papers on his desk.

“Na-ah, that’s cheating.” He walked over to the desk and flipped the papers over. “My turf, my rules,” he said chidingly.

Still she did not face him. She had no fear that she would betray her intentions, but for some reason Nia found she could not look at him under these pretenses.

But then he took the choice out of her hands, grasping her chin and turning her face towards him. They stared wordlessly at each other for about a minute before he sighed, “…Better.”

He released her and crossed to the other side of the desk, sitting down and crossing his legs. “Not feeling talkative today?” he asked. “Well, not that you are usually.”

She stood there, silently contemplating what to say. ‘Search out his weaknesses?’ The Anti-Spirals had never programmed her for espionage. And everything she had learned about him, he’d given to her willingly. What was she supposed to do?

But if she continued to do nothing, perhaps he would start to suspect something.

Nia joined him on the other side of the desk. As she came closer, her hand brushed against his knee. She saw his fingers twitch, as if he yearned to touch her, but restrained himself.

Simon looked up at her from his seat with a crooked smile. He was waiting for her to move first.

She reached out her hand, fingers grazing against the side of his face. He brought his own hand up to clasp hers and pressed it to his cheek. This time he would warm her icy fingers with his own heat.

Until she had started visiting him, Nia never would have guessed that such small touches could be so captivating. How the mere contact of skin against skin could arouse so much within her, when she had become accustomed to feeling nothing.

The cold in her hand had mostly dissipated now. Still looking up at her, Simon turned his face and lightly pressed his lips against her palm once. How odd.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Simon blinked. “You don’t know what a kiss is?”

“What is a kiss?”

He looked thwarted as he answered. “…A sign of affection?”

Affection? Nia stared at him. The Anti-Spirals had said he was attracted to her. But hadn’t she repeatedly told him that she was no longer human? Or did he not care about that too? In that case, he really was a fool…

“Why?” she asked. “I am your enemy. You must hate me.”

He sighed, dropping her hand. “Not every kiss is meant to be taken _seriously_.”

What? That just confused her even more.

“I don’t hate you, besides.”

“I declared war on your people and destroyed your home planet.”

“Not you. _They_. You’ve said it yourself. You only do what they’ve told you to do. What they’ve ‘programmed’ you to do. They stole your life from you. They made you their puppet.”

“This is what I was meant to be. It was my destiny.”

“But did you ever do anything against me with your own free will?”

“I…” _I started coming to see you._ But no, that was…

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re just another victim. That makes us no different.”

Nia recalled what he’d told her before. _“’Programmed to do,’ eh? Isn’t that the same as instinct?”_ She narrowed her eyes.

“…But that does not excuse you from _your_ actions. You do not fight to survive. You do not fight to protect. You fight for the sake of fighting.”

“Does that mean you hate me then?”

The question surprised her. “I cannot hate anything. I have no free will. I am your enemy because you risk causing the Spiral Nemesis.”

“Really, that’s all? I could think of several reasons why you might hate me. For one, I killed your father.”

“The father who abandoned me.”

“Would that have mattered to you, when you were human? He was still your father.”

“You have no way of knowing how I would have felt. You did not know me back then.”

“I know you now. That’s enough for me to make a guess.”

How could he say that, when she was just a shell of who she once was? He was only deluding himself. But…

Nia leaned back against the desk, looking at the floor. “…By the time the old man broke me out from the box, my father was already dead. I never had a chance to talk to him again…so I did not know how I should feel about it.”

Silence. She glanced up and caught him looking at her with a thoughtful expression.

He stood up, going to stand a few steps away from the desk, hands in his pockets. “See? There’s one reason.”

“Are you trying to make me hate you?” She did not understand the point of this conversation at all.

He laughed. “No. Though it would be interesting to see you feeling something that powerful.” He looked out the window, and after a contemplative silence, went on. “As for me, I _did_ hate your father.”

Nia remained quiet, curiosity urging him to continue, which he did, albeit at a pensive, lingering pace.

“After all, it was thanks to _him_ that my parents and Bro died. So yeah, I killed him. I did it gladly. I knew no one else could. That’s why I fought back then. _Someone_ needed to set things right. And it had to be me. Bro believed in me, so I had to believe in myself, even if no one else would, even if I had to do it all alone.”

A distant look came into his eyes. “I didn’t really care what happened afterwards. But…Bro loved the surface; he wanted to set humanity free. It’s what he would have wanted. He couldn’t do it himself, so I…I had to do it in his place…”

“Who is this Bro person?” Nia asked.

Simon froze. “Wh-what?”

“You keep mentioning him.”

“…He…he was someone I grew up with, when I was still living underground…I mean…he said we were soul brothers…but to me, he was…”

Simon seemed to be having difficulty finding the right words. Nia had never seen him act this way. He was always so confident...

“What happened to him?”

He clenched his eyes shut. “He died. I killed him. No, I didn’t— I didn’t _want_ to. It wasn’t supposed to turn out that way, I was too…if I hadn’t…if I was only _stronger_ , I could’ve…” He covered the upper half of his face with his hand, as if he were having a headache. “Why am I telling you this…”

He came back to the chair and sat down heavily, hanging his head and not saying another word.

Up to then, Nia hadn’t even considered this being his weakness. The questions had slipped from her lips naturally, fueled by curiosity, with not an ounce of ill will. But as she watched him now, she realized that this was exactly what the Anti-Spirals were looking for, and again, he had given it to her willingly.

And now she knew who he had been talking about that first time, the someone he thought he couldn’t live without, whom he faulted himself for losing. This Bro person must have been very important to him. How long ago did this happen? Ten years ago?

So he had been suffering at the same time she was.

An old memory drifted up from the depths of her past. It was from after she had been released from the box, lying in pain day after day, too weak to move or do anything but think. She had looked up at the ceiling of the cave, hot tears trailing down her cheeks into her ears, and asked over and over:

_“Father…why…what did I do wrong…why did you throw me away…Father…I’m sorry…I’m sorry you don’t want me anymore…I’m sorry…”_

A drop of water fell onto Simon’s hand, snapping her back to the present. She peered at him. Was he crying?

But when Simon looked up with his own look of surprise, eyes completely dry, Nia understood. She reached up to her face, and felt a wet trail leading down from her eye...

“You…” Simon stood up. At the same time, Nia backed away, hitting the desk behind her.

No…this was too much…all too much…all at once…it didn’t make any sense…

And before he could speak again, she disappeared.

 

* * *

  

For the next several hours, Simon kept going over the visit in the back of his mind, wondering what the hell had happened.

Though her expression remained the same as always, he had definitely seen Nia shed a single tear. She seemed unaware of it herself at first, and her reaction to it was of confusion mixed with fear…the strongest emotions he’d seen on her thus far.

What had she been thinking about, for her to do that? He hadn’t even been paying attention to her at that point, too caught up in his own bitter recollections.

Speaking of which, how did he allow that to happen? All this time he’d felt in control, assured that he could handle the situation no matter what she did, but instead he found himself shaken only by a few questions.

But…she had asked with such a disarming innocence, he couldn’t help but answer. Furthermore, he had never come across a person who did not already know who Kamina was…he wasn’t prepared to answer such a question; such a simple, straightforward question that somehow managed to unearth all of his most painful memories.

It was unsettling, to say the least. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure how he was going to face her the next time. He’d never even said that much to Yoko…

“Simon? Are you ready?” Boota asked from his side.

Pushing all thoughts of Nia away for the moment, Simon nodded. They were on the bridge, watching as the ship approached the small blue planet before them.

It was rare enough to find planets that could support life in this galaxy, but it was even harder to find one that wasn’t already under the Anti-Spirals’ watch. Usually it would have to be a planet that held no sentient life, or sentient life that only emerged in the past thousand years, still primitive enough not to emit Spiral Power to the extent that it would catch the Anti-Spirals’ attention.

The planet Erlith was one such planet. It had become one of their regular stops when the ship needed to restock on resources. The sentient life forms on the planet, who they called the Erlithians, were a small tribal group that was scattered about one continent, and just starting to spread out into another.

In the beginning, there had often been conflict whenever the humans ran into an alien species, always ending badly for the other side due to vastly different levels of technology. But with the Erlithians, they had managed to come to a compromise. The Erlithians seemed to have become convinced that the humans were gods, descending from the heavens inside colossal flying monsters to collect offerings, and in return, leaving blessings for a good harvest. Of course, the humans did not bother to correct them on this, preferring to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed.

By now the ship was aligned on the same orbit as the planet’s moon. So far, no problems. It was looking to be another routine operation. Which was good for the crew, but Simon had been hoping for something to take his mind off things.

“Gunmen, Gulaparls, and Gunspinners all set to go. Weather looks clear for the next few hours. Everything’s ready,” announced the operators.

“Shall I go?” suggested Boota.

“No, I’ll head out this time. I could use some fresh air. Watch the ship for me.”

Boota nodded.

Simon turned to leave the bridge. But just as soon as he reached the door, there was a loud rumble of an explosion outside.

“It’s the enemy!”

“They’ve ambushed us!”

Simon stopped in mid-step. A grin grew on his face. “Now that’s more like it.”

 

* * *

  

The Anti-Spiral fleets warped in by the hundreds, trapping the ship between them and the planet. Within seconds, the enemy had begun firing at them, and it was only thanks to the crew’s well-tuned instincts that they were able to get the shields up in time.

For a while, all they could do was try to withstand the onslaught. Fighting in such close proximity to the planet was difficult, and there was not enough room on either side to attempt a warp.

“They got us good this time,” Boota muttered.

“Yeah, looks like we can’t use this place anymore,” said Simon, coming back onto the bridge. “Cibela, how many planets do we have on reserve?”

“Um, that would be…eight, Captain!” Cibela shouted over the roar of the blasts.

“We should start keeping an eye out for more then,” Simon said.

The ship began to tremble. The attack was endless, allowing no room to breathe.

“How long do they plan to keep this up?” Boota wondered. At this rate, they wouldn’t even have a chance to fire back.

“Depends on how long our shields hold out, or when they run out of ammo, or…” Simon paused. “Boota, do you think…”

Boota followed his line of sight and saw that gradually, the force of the attack was pushing the ship closer to the planet. He gasped as he realized the enemy’s plan.

“How much longer before we enter the planet’s gravitational field?”

The operators did some quick calculations. “At the rate we’re going…barely 15 minutes!”

“Damn…”

Simon laughed. “They just love dropping this thing on people, don’t they? Very clever. Two birds with one stone.”

“Captain…” The crew clearly wanted him to start thinking of a way to get them out of the situation rather than stand there congratulating the enemy.

“Any ideas?” Boota asked.

“I’m working on it.”

Minutes passed. Meanwhile, more Anti-Spiral ships warped in, replacing the others as they ran out of ammunition, but without ever letting up on the constant assault.

In front of them now was a horde of ships, each three times their size. To try escaping in that direction would be suicide. And at their back, a beautiful planet full of life and potential, slowly looming larger with every minute. Both sides held promise of a fiery death. There was nowhere to run.

“Captain?” the crew asked again, nervously. It had already been ten minutes.

Simon had his arms crossed, eyes closed with a look of concentration on his face. Suddenly, he spoke. “Prepare the Maelstrom and Megavortex Cannons!”

“Yes, Captain!” The crew jumped to the task.

The Maelstrom Cannon and Megavortex Cannon were two of the most powerful weapons the ship possessed, having the ability to shoot through space-time by tracking and locking onto enemy ships in mid-warp.

Boota glanced at Simon. Did he mean to fire at the enemy ships as they warped in? Surely lowering the shields would be too risky; the ship would be blown to smithereens in half a second. But if that was the only way to protect the Erlithians…

“Speed of descent has increased!” one of the operators shouted. “We’re caught in the planet’s gravity!”

“Preparations complete!”

“Captain, where do we target?”

“The planet Erlith,” answered Simon.

A beat of stunned silence.

“What?”

“But…Captain…”

“The Erlithians…”

“Do it, or we’ll be dead along with them!” Simon ordered, making them jump.

Now Boota was beginning to get an idea of what Simon was planning. The crew looked baffled; this operation was very different from how the cannons were normally used, as it did not involve tracking an enemy’s movements, but merely shooting through space-time at a stationary object.

But if his hunch was correct…this could possibly be the largest hole Simon would ever dig.

“Cannons…ready to fire…” The crewman in charge of the cannons gulped while taking the controls in hand. He was still young, recruited from among the survivors on board the Arc Gurren just two years ago. The crewman bit his lip, beads of sweat dripping down his face as he gazed at the pristine oceans and landmasses down below.

“Why are you hesitating?” Simon asked sternly. “Every second lost puts us in more danger. FIRE!”

The young crewman flinched, and pulled the trigger.

It all happened in an instant.

The two cannon beams erupted from the side of the ship, twisting around each other in a double helix. As soon as the beams hit their mark, a giant wormhole opened in the planet, which promptly sucked in the ship like a vacuum.

In a speed faster than light, they reappeared on the other side of the planet, millions of miles away. Far in the distance, the planet exploded, taking out the enemy ships along with it.

They had managed to escape without damage and defeat the enemy all in one shot.

“Two birds, one stone,” said Simon, sounding satisfied.

 

* * *

  

In the hangar, the Gurren Brigade gaped at the screen in shock. They had been waiting there on standby when the battle broke out. It all happened so quickly— just a moment ago they were prepared to make another visit among the Erlithians, and now those Erlithians didn’t even exist anymore.

“I can’t believe it…” Yoko heard Kittan say beside her.

Yoko’s fists clenched tight. Memories from that day three years ago flashed before her eyes. Noise, fire, and debris everywhere. The same pain, the same feeling of helplessness. And in the end, left floating out into the darkness of space, with no place to return to. All gone. All dead.

The roar in her ears intensified until she couldn’t take it anymore. Yoko turned and marched over to the elevators.

“Hey— where’re you going?!” someone called from behind.

“To have a word with our captain,” she managed to say between gritted teeth.

After a moment, she heard footsteps as most of the Gurren Brigade followed behind her.

She found Simon with Boota walking down the hall leading from the bridge. He stopped when he saw the party coming toward him, not looking very surprised.

Yoko spoke first. “Simon…how could you do that?”

“Do what?” he said off-handedly.

Do _what?!_ “We’ve just committed mass xenocide!”

“The Anti-Spirals were going to destroy them anyway,” Simon said.

“That’s no excuse!”

“This is a _war_ , Yoko. Why are you so surprised?”

“The Erlithians did _nothing_ to us! They just wanted to live as they were, and we— you— we had no right to take that from them! How does this make us any different from the Anti-Spirals?!”

“There was no other choice. Could you have made a better plan, Yoko? Or would you have rather sacrificed the ship and let the Anti-Spirals wipe out the rest of humanity? It was them or us. I chose us.”

Yoko stared at him in disbelief. The Simon she knew wouldn’t say a thing like that. “…That’s bullshit! That’s complete bullshit, and you know it! You could have come up with something better if you wanted to! You just didn’t care! That’s all!”

Simon looked at her impassively, neither confirming nor denying her claim. Instead, he said, “If there’s something in my way, I’ll drill through it to get to the other side. It makes no difference who or what it is. That’s always the way I’ve done things. You should know that by now, Yoko.”

No. She never thought it would come to this. She’d always believed that somewhere inside, he was still the kind boy from back when Kamina was still alive… How? How did he become so heartless? How did this happen?

Yoko shook her head, despair creeping into her voice in place of outrage.

“…Kamina wouldn’t have wanted this.”

She knew that was his weakness, and sure enough, it worked. Simon snapped.

“There were a lot of things he wouldn’t have wanted to happen, but they still did, didn’t they?!” he shouted. “Did you think he wanted to die leaving everything unfinished? To leave us behind? To end up just like his father did? Did you think he wanted all that to happen to the Earth?! He wanted to free humanity, but that only led to us dooming it to destruction!”

He was a completely different person from the detached captain who had just been talking. Now, he looked just like the boy in the week after his brother had died.

“What happened to all the things he said? The surface has no ceiling? Ten times over? We’ll go to the moon together— oh, we’re on the moon, all right! Bro didn’t know everything. He couldn’t have, he was just a kid! Things changed, we’ve all grown up, and it’s by time you’ve realized that!”

At the end of the tirade, no one said a word. The Gurren Brigade stood watching wide-eyed and speechless, while Boota looked grimly down at the floor with his brows creased. Only Simon’s panting from his outburst filled the silence.

But as for Yoko, among all the hurtful, truthful things that he’d said, one thing stuck out like a sore thumb.

“…How do you know about that?”

“What?”

“Ten times over.” She could have sworn that was the one thing she’d never revealed to him.

Simon looked taken aback for a brief moment. “…Do you want to know?” A sardonic smile stretched across his face. “Do you _really_ want to know?”

Hesitantly, Yoko nodded.

“Fine. Do you know why I couldn’t concentrate that night? Because I saw you. _I saw you_. Together. And I couldn’t get that out of my mind.” His voice grew louder. “I should have known that you were just leading me on all that time, but I was too young and stupid to realize it. But how could I say anything? How could I? We both loved him, and because of us, he—“ Simon inhaled quickly, unable to say anymore. He quickly looked away.

Stunned, it took a while for Yoko to digest all this, but when she did, it hit hard.

“No way…but then…that means…it was…” The words ‘your,’ ‘our,’ and ‘my’ floated around in her head, but she couldn’t pick any of them. “…fault.” She fell to her knees.

So this was what he’d been hiding from her. So this was why he never talked. So this was why he stayed so distant whenever she tried to come close. “…Oh god.” Before she could stop them, the tears were already trickling down from her eyes. “Kamina…”

The swish of the coat by her ear told her that Simon had just walked past. But she stayed put, as the overwhelming weight of all those years pushed down upon her.

 

* * *

  

“Dammit!” Simon punched his desk. “Goddammit…”

All that time keeping his mouth shut, just to keep from hurting her, and then he had to go ruin it. Why did she have to remind him? Why?!

He put a hand over his eyes, feeling himself tremble. “I’m sorry, Bro…I’m sorry…”

Then he felt it. The chill down his spine. Nia had appeared in the room.

He did not turn to her. It took all his power just to maintain a level voice.

“…Now isn’t a good time.”

She didn’t move.

He spoke a little louder. “Go away.”

She took a step closer.

He finally looked at her, frustration building inside him. “Didn’t you hear me?!”

Nia stood there wearing that same blank expression she always had, an expression that he suddenly wished to wipe off of her face.

He pushed her against the wall forcefully, grabbing her wrist in his hand and squeezing hard. Nia winced in pain. “I’m _hurting_ you!” he yelled in her face. “Why aren’t you going away? Why are you still here?!”

She did not answer. Instead, she gazed up into his eyes with a look of defiance…no, was she trying to tell him something?

“Is it because they’ve ordered you to stay?” he guessed.

Slowly, she nodded.

That just pissed him off even more.

“…Fine! Fine. If that’s how it is. Why did I even bother talking to you? You’ll never change. For all I care, you can just leave and never come back! Not like I ever enjoyed your company anyway. Not like I ever _wanted_ you around. It was already starting to get old. I might as well forget you ever existed! In fact, next time you…”

Nia disappeared from his arms, not allowing him to finish. He was left there blinking at the wall, as the fury and resentment seeped out of him with no target to lash out at.

He hadn’t actually expected her to leave. Nor did he expect to see that flash of pain in her eyes, a pain caused by his words rather than his actions.

But even worse was the realization that she had just defied her orders for his sake.


	5. Evolution

The surface of the Anti-Spiral home planet was deathly still, dark, and silent. The Messenger stood on the shore of what was once an ocean, but now it was barren, as was the rest of the planet. Everything gray and lifeless.

Behind her, stretching on for miles on end, lay the white bodies of the Anti-Spiral race. For thousands of years they had been there in suspended animation, never changing, ever unified in thought and purpose. They were her creators, her reason for being, though the Messenger herself had not been born here.

But the other side of her that had been nurtured by the Earth was long gone. Her cells overturned, her blood and the very substance of her being converted into something no longer human, something that could hardly be called alive. Yes, if there was anywhere she truly belonged now, this had to be the place.

There was no use arguing against it. Certainly she had never thought of doing so. What good was it being human anyway? They were fickle, selfish beings. Her dealings with that man had only proved it in the end. The Anti-Spirals had been right after all, so there was no point in being curious any longer. She should have no hesitation in bringing him down.

And yet…the Messenger could not bring herself to go see him again. She could not fathom why. Because he told her not to? What did she care what he had to say? The Spirals were not worth listening to. Was it because he had awakened those feelings within her? What did she have to fear from something so fleeting and trivial?

She would have to go back sometime. Those were her orders, after all. To defy them once was already unthinkable, but to continue defying them… There was no telling when the Anti-Spirals would analyze her again. They would not be pleased to find she was being insubordinate.

She recalled the look on the man’s face when he had been yelling at her. He knew now. If she went again, he would know it was because she had been ordered to. What would he do? Would he try to kill her? Would she have to fight him?

The Messenger shivered as a cold breeze drifted along the shoreline, wafting her hair into the air. Strange…she never realized that the wind was cold here. At least, not until _he_ had taught her to remember what warmth felt like…

No, no. Better to not remember. Better to let her thoughts sink back into nothingness, to let the programs take back control, to forget that she even had any memories to begin with. That would be so much easier…

 

* * *

  

It had been three days since the destruction of the planet Erlith. Tensions were running high among the crew after the incident, both from the shock of having wiped out an entire alien race, and the rumors running about of an argument between the captain and one of the original members of the Gurren Brigade.

But it was not only the crew that was tense. Both Simon and Yoko kept their distance, which was admittedly easy to do on such a large ship. From Boota’s observations, their paths rarely crossed unintentionally in the first place. As for the rest of the Gurren Brigade who had been present at the confrontation, whenever Boota came across any of them, they merely looked away and continued work silently. Occasionally he would hear a whisper once his back was turned.

All the while, Simon stayed hidden away in the captain’s quarters the majority of the time, for both solitude and, Boota guessed, waiting for _her_ to appear.

Boota entered the room to find Simon as he was when he’d last seen him, pacing back and forth across the room restlessly, hands in his pockets.

“She still hasn’t come?”

Simon shook his head, frowning. “She didn’t appear in the last battle either…”

Boota could tell that something must have happened between him and the Messenger, but did not bother to ask. If it was important, Simon would let him know eventually. “Well. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“Maybe…” Simon muttered, though still looking dissatisfied.

Boota continued watching his friend pace, marveling at how he could keep that up for so long without getting dizzy.

“I’ve been assessing the situation on board,” he said after a while. “If the rumors keep going around unchecked, it could lead to misunderstandings. It would probably be wise to make an announcement within the next few— Simon?!”

Simon had doubled over, hand over mouth, looking as if he were ready to hurl. Boota rubbed his back until the waves of nausea passed, and Simon straightened up again, face pale.

“You should stop pacing so much,” Boota said. “Have you been getting any sleep?”

Simon shook his head, still gasping.

“I can escort you to the medical bay…”

“No, I’m fine,” Simon said distractedly, and continued pacing.

Boota sighed. He could recognize these symptoms. Simon was going off the deep end again, and at this rate, there would be no going back.

He turned to leave the room again. “I’ll be back in an hour. Please…remember to eat something.”

Simon did not seem to hear. Boota made a mental note to pick up something from the galley.

 

* * *

  

He couldn’t stay still.

It had all been so much easier when he just relied on instinct. To not think, just do. When his body was sated, a numbness would settle in his mind. A blessed escape, free from all pain and desire.

But now, the thoughts would not stop turning. Thoughts of the past and present. He couldn’t block them out anymore. For the past three days they had continued to claw at his mind until it was raw. There was a pressure constantly building inside him, increasing with every rotation, and before he’d realize it he would be pacing in circles across the floor.

Something had changed. What was it? He remembered having this feeling before. When? Twice. Twice before. The first time was after Bro had died. A major turning point in his life. The second time was after the Earth had been destroyed. Another turning point.

What was it this time? Yoko? No, Nia. It had to be Nia. Tracing back through recent events, it all started with her.

Simon knew himself well enough to realize that she was no longer just a distraction to him. In fact, lately she had been taking up a good deal of his thoughts, whether he liked it or not.

And the incident three days ago had only made it worse. Why wasn’t she coming anymore? Did his words affect her that much? Hadn’t she been ordered to spy on him? Was she disobeying orders? Or had the whole thing just been a ruse to make him more vulnerable?

He preferred not to consider the last alternative for the sake of his pride. If the Anti-Spirals had indeed been planning this all along, then for once they were winning. But such a tactic would be very unlike them. If love was related to evolution, and Spiral Power was the power of evolution, would they dare resort to using the very thing they fought to suppress?

…Not that love had anything to do with it necessarily. He’d already learned his lesson the first time. He’d only just been _playing_ with her. There was barely any personality there to fall in love with in the first place.

At least, that’s what he thought…in the beginning. But as he’d continued seeing her, he began noticing aspects of her that were far too _human_ to ignore. And he’d enjoyed finding those scant responses, had gotten a thrill from it, felt a sense of satisfaction in the fact that _he_ was the one who brought them out. He began looking forward to her visits, always thinking of ways to tease out as much as he could. He wanted more. Not just bits and pieces of her, but _everything_.

Simon paused as the burning sensation inside him brought up another round of nausea. Sooner or later, this expanding energy was going to explode. He could feel it. It was all too much for his body to handle at once.

Once the nausea had died down again, he went back to pacing.

Then was she disobeying orders after all? What would happen if the Anti-Spirals realized? What would they do to her if they thought she was no longer useful? Would they try to reprogram her? Or just throw her away, like her father did?

“Idiot…” he muttered. What was she doing? Here he was waiting for her, giving her plenty of opportunity to come spy on him, and she wouldn’t take it?

Did he _want_ her to spy on him?

He gave a bitter laugh. “…I really have gone insane…”

What should he do? She wasn’t coming. No amount of waiting would undo what he’d said to her. But how was he supposed to know she’d actually listen to him? He didn’t have that kind of power over her…did he? They were enemies, with different agendas and ways of thinking. They both knew that. So why did things get so goddamn complicated?!

This was getting him nowhere.

Simon abruptly turned and headed out the door, feet instinctively taking him down a familiar route through the ship.

As soon as the idea occurred to him, he had to wonder why he didn’t think of it before. After all, that was where he always went when he needed more information. It had been right under his nose the whole time.

He entered the computer room in the heart of the ship. As expected, the place was empty, and his footsteps echoed on the floor as he walked past towering machines with their millions of minuscule lights blinking like stars in the darkness.

And there, at last, a tank bathed in green light holding the biological computer.

“Back so soon?” Lord Genome yawned as Simon approached.

“Tell me more about Nia,” he said, getting straight to the point. “What was she like? Why did you throw her away?”

“What, that again? Surely you must have more important things to worry about.”

“Just answer the question.” He didn’t bother hiding his impatience.

Lord Genome seemed to be deep in thought.

“Well?”

“I don’t quite remember.”

Simon slammed his palm against the glass. “You can spit out information on the farthest star systems in the galaxy, but you can’t even remember your own daughter?!”

It didn’t annoy him before, but it sure as hell annoyed him now.

Lord Genome stared back at him with an indifferent look.

“Do I have to draw you a fucken picture or—“

“Calm down. You are losing control of your Spiral Power. No good can come from that.”

“Fine.” Simon took a long, deep breath, and exhaled. “There. Happy? Now, _tell me_.”

Lord Genome pursed his lips in thought. “She was a curious child, too curious for her own good. Always asked too many questions. It was beyond tiring. I was glad to have gotten rid of her when I did.”

“Yeah, that sounds like her…” Simon couldn’t help but smirk at the thought. “And? Don’t tell me that was the only reason.”

“It was. I believe her last question was ‘why was I born?’ She had become too self-aware.”

“What do you mean? She was a human, shouldn’t that be expected?”

“What use would I have for self-awareness in a mere doll? How bothersome. There’s a reason why I made most of my beastmen unintelligent.”

“…Then why did you even bother to have children in the first place?”

“A thousand years is a long time to live without any distractions. I played with them, and when I grew tired, I threw them away and found a replacement. It was as simple as that.”

Simon gaped at him. Not only from indignation, but because somehow, those words sounded uncomfortably familiar…

Then it clicked.

“…Shit…”

_A distraction._

“Shit…shit…”

_Playing with her._

“God…dammit…”

_“It was already starting to get old.”_

He’d treated her just like her father did— using her for his own convenience, then throwing her aside like she was nothing. So that explained that look in her eyes. That’s why she wasn’t coming anymore.

“I’m a…fucking idiot…”

He started pacing again, back and forth in front of the tank.

Great. Just great. He was already feeling like shit for what he said to Yoko, and about Bro, and now this. His insides gurgled. The feeling of nausea was coming back up again.

But why should he care? _Why should he care?_ He didn’t care about the universe, about humanity, about a planet full of innocents, but he cared for this? For _her?_ That didn’t make any fucking sense…WHY?

Then he recalled that first night with her, face-to-face on the floor. And what came after. Her hands in his. A little touch of warmth. A tear down her cheek. A look of wordless _pain_. Her innocence shining out from behind the frozen façade as she reached out to him again and again, always with a question on her lips.

That was why. There was no reason to it. When did he ever pay attention to reason anyway? And more importantly…

“That’s her. That’s what I’ve been glimpsing all this time. Her memories. Her personality. _She’s still in there._ ”

He came to a stop. Suddenly, his mind was clear. Why didn’t he realize before? It was so obvious.

Lord Genome, who had been quietly watching the whole time, finally spoke up. “And? What do you intend to do with that information? She is still completely under the control of the Anti-Spirals.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, but…” Simon clenched his fist. “…If there’s one thing I do know, it’s that I won’t let it end this way.”

Lord Genome continued staring, expression unreadable.

There was a rumble. All of a sudden, the entire ship shook, throwing Simon against the side of the tank.

“It appears we’re under attack,” Lord Genome observed.

But Simon was already back on his feet and running out of the room.

 

* * *

  

Boota had been worried when he didn’t find Simon in the captain’s quarters, but once the attack started, he headed to the bridge at once, figuring that’s where he would end up eventually.

And just as he thought, several minutes into the battle, Simon appeared on the bridge, out of breath as if he’d just run half the length of the ship.

“You’re late,” Boota commented.

But Simon did not seem bothered. Instead, he was scanning the heavens, apparently searching for something among the explosions. “Was she here?” he asked.

There was no need to ask who he was referring to. “No. Another no-show, I’m afraid.”

“Dammit.” Simon grit his teeth.

“Captain! Your orders?” asked a crewmember.

“Fire some cannons or something!” Simon barked irritably.

Boota blinked. He’d never seen Simon so distracted in the middle of a battle before. From the look of things, he would have to take charge for this one…

“The enemy has sent ten warped missiles!”

“Estimating warp exit points!”

“Keep shields raised! Prepare the Maelstrom Cannon!”

“Yes, sir!”

The crew was hard at work.

Boota spared a glance at Simon again. His friend was still looking up toward the stars, but did not appear to be paying attention to the actual battle. Then a hard look came into his dark eyes, and he muttered something under his breath. Boota was just barely able to catch the last words.

“…then I’ll _make_ you come out.”

And in that instant, his eyes transformed. A brilliant green spiral pattern burned within his irises, quickly followed by a staggering blast of Spiral Power that erupted from beneath his feet.

Boota stumbled back. “Simon?!”

Simon stayed perfectly still as the Core Drill around his neck shone brighter and brighter, and the Spiral Power, now emanating from his entire body, began to twist upward around him.

The ship started to tremble. The computers fizzed out, causing the operators to gasp. The green glow was now spreading over the bridge, into the controls, across the entire ship. Everything ceased to function.

“Simon— what are you—“

The Anti-Spiral ships launched forward, eager to take advantage of their weakness, but were immediately blown back by an explosion of Spiral Power.

The heavens shook. As they watched, space itself cracked and shattered around them. The enemy missiles emerged from the break in space-time, and were just as quickly dissolved by the pure energy spreading, still spreading, ever outward.

It was now almost painful just to look at Simon, he was glowing so bright, the dazzling light surrounding him now resembling a miniature galaxy, with him as the galactic core.

A further blast of power was finally enough to make Boota snap his eyes shut, and he saw no more of what followed.

 

* * *

  

The hive mind was in an uproar.

What was he doing? How was it possible for one human to emit so much power?

They had to stop it— at once. But every ship they sent was destroyed just as soon as it appeared.

Amidst all the chaos, the Messenger watched the man in her mind’s eye, mystified. Just what did he hope to accomplish with this act?

The moment she’d thought this, he answered.

“I can start the Spiral Nemesis right here, right now! Just watch me!”

The hive mind froze as his voice reverberated into the heavens.

What? Did he mean it? Was it even _possible_ for a single human to start the Spiral Nemesis all on his own? But they’d never come across a Spiral being this powerful, not even in the old wars…

They hurriedly began calculating the odds.

“You don’t think I’m serious?!” the man continued shouting. “Who the hell do you think I am?! I’m the man who’ll pierce the heavens, and if there’s a God on the other side, I’ll drag him down and show him what hell looks like!”

For once, the Anti-Spiral hive mind was divided, one half paying attention to the man’s words but not comprehending them, the other half still busy calculating.

“All right, then! Let’s end it all, shall we?! On the count of ten! One, two…”

The hive mind screamed in panic.

In a flash, the Messenger appeared by the man’s side. “What do you think you’re—“

But she wasn’t even allowed to finish the sentence before he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close, right inside the spiraling ring of energy.

“Finally caught you!” he grinned.

It took a moment for the Messenger to understand what he meant, but when she did, the enormity of the situation struck her dumb.

Did…did he just threaten to destroy the universe simply to see her again?!

The man put both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up into his face. His eyes were almost terrifying to behold, but his expression was calm, and his voice level as he spoke to her.

“Now, it’s up to you whether you want to see me after this, but first I’m going to have my say on things. Got it?”

All she could do was nod.

“Okay.” But once he started, he seemed to falter. “Okay. Well…” Did he even know what he wanted to say? “Look, the other day was…it was a bad day. For me, for you, for everyone. I didn’t know what I was saying half the time. I mean, I did, but I didn’t _mean_ them. I mean…”

He hung his head for a moment, cursing himself silently. “Fuck, I hardly know what I’m saying _now_.”

That only served to confuse her. “If…if you didn’t mean it, why did you say it…?”

“I was upset! Sometimes people want to be left alone when they’re upset. Didn’t you even do that yourself?”

“I was not upset…”

“You were upset! You cried!”

“I…I didn’t…”

“Now you’re lying. Can a computer lie? Can a _program_ tell you to do that?”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say…”

The man sighed. “What I’m saying, is that I take it back. I didn’t want you to leave for _good_.”

“But you said you didn’t want me—“

“No, I want you!” He blushed as soon as the words left his mouth. “No…no, I mean…”

“You keep contradicting yourself.”

“Goddammit! Stop taking everything so literally!”

Now he was yelling at her again. “Did I upset you?”

“No, it’s my fault, I’m not making sense. I’ll— I’ll just put it simply: I’m sorry.”

She stared at him.

He said it again. “I’m sorry. Do you get that?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

“…You’re not going to destroy the universe…?”

“Not today. You can tell your hive mind to calm down.”

She passed on the message. “You…don’t mind me coming to spy on you?”

“The way I see it, I’m getting something in return.”

“What?”

“Never mind. No, it doesn’t bother me.”

Somehow, she felt like a great weight had just been lifted off her shoulders, one she didn’t even know she had.

“One last thing.” He seemed to be finding it easier to choose his words again. “I want you to tell me who you are.”

What? Shouldn’t he already know that by now? “I am…the Anti-Spiral Messenger…”

“No. _Tell me who you are_.”

Did she misunderstand? The Messenger looked into his eyes. As intimidating as they were, she couldn’t help but feel entranced. “…I…am…” She repeated the question in her mind. Who was she when she was with him? What was the name she wanted him to call her? “…Nia.”

Simon smiled. It wasn’t as dynamic as his usual smiles, but strong and reassuring. “Yeah. And that’s who you’ll always be.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But Simon let her go then, so Nia took it as her cue to leave.

 

* * *

  

The light began to dim. Boota opened his eyes again to find the explosive outpouring of Spiral Power gradually dying down, seeping back in toward its center. The ship stopped glowing. The computers started up again. The black emptiness of space returned. The Anti-Spiral ships had all been wiped out; there was nothing left to fight anymore. Silence.

And Simon stood there, a smile on his face, not even looking exhausted. In fact, he looked rather refreshed.

“What…just happened?” The crew began to mumble dazedly.

“Oh, I just gave them a little scare,” said Simon, turning to face them.

Despite himself, Boota recoiled. Simon’s eyes were still a bright green, the spiral pattern now permanently etched in.

“Good work, everyone! Battle’s over, get back to your stations.”

They all watched, speechless, as their captain coolly left the bridge. He paused at the door momentarily to call back to Boota. “Oh, by the way. I’m feeling much better now.”

 

* * *

  

The Anti-Spirals analyzed her immediately when she returned, and perhaps because they were still in a panic, Nia was lucky enough that they did not notice she had been neglecting her tasks.

Even afterwards, they still frantically continued calculating and forming plans. To them, Simon was even more of a danger than before. From now on, killing him would be their absolute top priority.

Nia observed this as if from a distance, feeling strangely disconnected even as the hive mind buzzed with activity.

Of course, it was a problem. Simon had indeed grown stronger in the short amount of time she’d been away from him. And his complete lack of concern for the welfare of the universe was still troubling. But…

She knew it was wrong, but…

But when she had been standing there with him, surrounded by light and warmth and energy, a complete opposite spectrum from the lifeless landscape she had become accustomed to, she felt something new. New, and daunting, but she could not tear herself away. And he— he _wanted_ her there, had almost done the unthinkable just to lure her out. To apologize.

And although his words confused her, one thing was absolutely certain— her father had never reached out to her like that.

The Anti-Spirals did not notice when she slipped away.

She appeared in his room, and he was there waiting for her, smiling as soon as he saw her.

“Nia,” he said.

Somehow, now just hearing him say that transmitted warmth to her.

A silence stretched between them, awkward but not uncomfortable. Nia quickly tried to come up with something to say.

“I…”

What was she going to do from now on? She couldn’t just allow him to destroy the universe, of course, but… If there was one thing she wanted now, it was to not see him die. Still, at this rate, they would be unable to avoid either result. It was either him or the Anti-Spirals. But what about her? What could she do?

If there was some way, any way at all…

Making her decision, Nia looked Simon straight in the eyes. “I will stop you.”

At first he looked surprised. “Heh. I’d like to see you try,” he said, sounding amused.

“I’m serious,” she said, frustration bubbling to the surface. “If you continue abusing your Spiral Power like this, the universe will be…”

He put a finger to her lips, silencing her before she could start lecturing.

“All right. I accept your challenge. But I’ll have to come up with one for myself too.”

She brushed his hand away. “Like what?”

“Hmm. Let me think…” Simon put on a mock-thoughtful expression and began to walk around her.

Nia sighed. He still wasn’t taking her seriously. Her first attempt at deciding something on her own, and even he didn’t believe she could do it…

But just then, she felt his hand on her shoulder, and from behind, Simon whispered into her ear, his breath sending shivers down her body. “I will save you.”

Nia spun around to face him, and found him suddenly looking dead serious.

“You’ll…what?” she asked breathlessly.

“It’s a promise.” A look of challenge came into his green eyes. “Let’s see if you can stop me before then.”

Save her? Save her from what? The Anti-Spirals? Did he even think it was possible for her to be separated from them?

No, it was impossible. But only just as possible as the challenge she’d set for herself. This was…madness. Had his Spiral Power affected her too?

But even as she doubted it, she knew. Whatever path this would lead them down from now on… There was no turning back.


	6. Legacy

“Set coordinates for the Habrilis star system.”

“Yes, Captain!”

Simon and Boota stood on the bridge, keeping watch for any sign of Anti-Spiral presence.

“All ready, sir!”

They shared a glance and nodded. Everything looked clear.

“Commence warp!”

With a flash, the ship jumped ahead into the warp. Moments later, they reappeared several hundred light years away next to a small planet. At least, it was supposed to be a planet, but from the outside it only looked like a black sphere, with a mirror image of the battleship reflected on its side growing larger as they approached.

“Cibela, check to see if we’ve been followed.”

“Nothing’s coming up on the radar…”

“Good. Commence shutdown of the main Spiral Engine.”

“Shutting down engine…”

The lights in the ship died down as the Spiral energy sources were turned off. Then the backup generators, running on electricity, flickered on. The ship continued drifting toward the black sphere. As they neared, its surface rippled, then gave way as the ship plunged into it.

“Entering the Galactic Spiral Abyss!”

Minutes passed as the ship slowly made its way through the murky depths. It felt much like diving straight into a black ocean, albeit an ocean that surrounded a planet in the form of a bubble.

Sunlight found them again as the bow of the ship emerged from the Galactic Spiral Abyss on the other side. In front of them now was a blue planet, the home of the first (and so far, only) human colony outside of their own solar system.

It had been over half a year since the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren last paid a visit to the colony. It was always risky to come back after they first established it, for there was the chance that the Anti-Spirals could try following after them. This was especially the case after the incident with the planet Erlith.

Of course, they had taken measures to hide the colony. The Death Spiral Machine served this purpose. The humans had originally encountered it in their first year in space as a trap set by the Anti-Spirals, but rather than destroying it, they had managed to steal it for their own use.

It now worked as a smokescreen to keep the Anti-Spirals from detecting the planet. All of the Spiral Power emanating from the colony into space was dissipated in the Spiral Conversion Field, and though the area looked black from the outside, the sun’s rays filtered through and Spiral Power could still be used inside. But even so, they kept the visits short, usually two days at the most, to avoid having the Anti-Spirals come searching for them.

Once the ship had completely emerged from the Galactic Spiral Abyss, Simon ordered for the Spiral Engine to be turned back on. Everything was soon back to full power.

Looking out from the side, they could see the Death Spiral Machine itself from where it sat planted on one of the planet’s two moons. They were greeted by a familiar sight, the Gurren Brigade’s symbol, which Simon had carved onto the machine’s face with Gurren-Lagann’s Giga Drill when they claimed the machine for their own. And coming toward them now from beside the moon was the Super Dreadnought Space Battleship Arc Gurren.

“Everything all right, Simon?” Viral’s voice came over the communicator.

“It went smoothly. I don’t think we’ll have any problems,” Simon answered. “But just in case, Boota’s volunteered to stay on the ship this time.”

“Good plan. We’ll be docking in a few minutes, so get ready to board.”

The Arc Gurren came up alongside the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren and docked. From there, Simon and those designated among the crew to visit the colony would board the Arc Gurren, which would then take them down to the surface of the planet.

Viral was there to meet them when they came on board. As Simon came near, the beastman’s eyes widened. Simon sighed; he’d been getting that sort of reaction a lot lately.

“You become more like the Spiral King each time I see you,” Viral muttered.

“Would you shut up about that already,” Simon replied irritably. “What’s this thing you said you wanted to discuss with me anyway?”

“That’s classified information,” Viral said, glancing at the crew members milling around them. “We’ll talk about it with Rossiu when we get to the colony.”

Simon raised an eyebrow at this, but didn’t bother to pursue the subject. A flash of red caught his eye among the crew coming on board. He quickly looked away. Damn, Yoko was coming along too? He was pretty sure she didn’t the last time…

If Viral noticed his aversion to seeing her, he didn’t say anything about it.

Presently, Kittan and Gimmy, as the leaders of the Gunmen and Gulaparl troops respectively, came to join them.

Gimmy looked around. “Where’s Darry?”

“There was an attack by the natives on the outskirts of the colony just before we took off,” Viral answered. “She said she would take care of it. She’ll probably be waiting for us when we land.”

Back when Simon had appointed Viral as head of the Defense Force in charge of protecting the colony, he’d also given him the option of hand-picking a second-in-command. Viral’s choice, as it turned out, had been Darry. Apparently he had seen her potential when he was arrested by the Gulaparls right before the first Anti-Spiral attack. Darry promptly rose to the challenge. It was the first time the twins had been separated in their lives, but Gimmy and Darry both agreed that splitting forces was necessary to protect the colony and fight the war at the same time.

The four men made their way up to the bridge of the Arc Gurren. All the while, Simon could feel Kittan’s eyes trained on the back of his head. Neither of them said anything; while Simon simply had nothing to say, he could sense that Kittan had quite a lot to say, but was holding himself back due to the fact that it was technically none of his business.

Kittan’s crush on Yoko for the past three years had been obvious to everyone who knew him, except perhaps Yoko herself. It was just one of the many uncomfortable aspects of Simon’s own relationship with Yoko, as he realized that he was putting Kittan in the same position he had been in himself ten years ago. And now that it was over between them, he didn’t mind if Kittan wanted to try wooing her. In fact, that would probably be for the best overall.

Of course, this only brought down his number of personal relationships. The only people he felt truly comfortable around lately were Boota and, most recently, Nia. Well, two wasn’t a bad number. Two was enough.

Speaking of Nia, he would have to think of how to answer her if she asked where he’d disappeared to the next time they met. He couldn’t let anything having to do with the colony be leaked to the Anti-Spirals. And it had been just plain embarrassing that time he tried apologizing to her without thinking through what he wanted to say first. That part had felt far more challenging than the act of actually getting her to come to him.

Simon kept this in the back of his mind as the Arc Gurren headed back to the colony. By the time they arrived, he’d come up with a believable excuse and rehearsed it several times in his head.

 

* * *

  

New Kamina City, the nucleus of the colony, was situated within a vast valley, much like Teppelin had been. Though it was yet to even resemble the glory of its predecessor, the city was steadily growing, with the afternoon sun shining down on numerous construction projects in the distance.

Simon and Viral waited on the airfield for Rossiu to come pick them up. The place was busy, with Gulaparl units constantly flying in and out, and crew members from the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren drifting around chatting or making their way toward the city.

Suddenly, a flurry of pink hair rushed past and launched itself at someone behind them.

“Gimmy!”

“Darry!” Gimmy exclaimed in surprise. Reunited, the two hugged and laughed together like they were little children again.

After a minute, Darry pulled away and looked up at Gimmy, who now stood a full head higher than her. “You’ve grown taller again! That’s not fair!”

“It’s not my fault your growth spurt is over already…”

“Hey, Darry!” Viral called over. “Remember that you’re still on duty. I want to see a report on the earlier incident before the end of the day.”

Darry turned and saluted sharply with a smile. “Of course, sir. Who do you think I am?”

Viral smirked at that, and Simon couldn’t help but join him. Given more independence and responsibility, Darry was becoming increasingly outspoken.

“I’ll catch up with you later, Gimmy. Gotta go!”

Darry rushed away just as quickly as she’d come.

A while later, a Gunspinner descended from the sky and landed on the airfield in front of them. Its door opened, and Rossiu stepped out, with Kinon right behind him.

“Took you long enough,” Viral grumbled, but Rossiu was busy talking to Kinon, who was taking notes on her clipboard. Once they finished, they both turned and, seeing Simon, jumped. Kinon nearly dropped her clipboard.

“Would it be easier for you if I wore sunglasses?” Simon asked.

Rossiu coughed. “Oh, no, excuse me. It was just…startling to see in person.”

“You seem busy.”

“Aren’t we always?” Indeed, Rossiu had bags under his eyes and the air of someone constantly overworked. He gestured to the Gunspinner. “If you would please. We have a lot to talk about.”

 

* * *

  

Yoko stood on the airfield, fingering the strap of her rifle and sighing. Now that she was here, she wasn’t really sure what to do. She hadn’t planned on coming at all, but the other Gunmen pilots had all insisted that she go and get some air, and understanding that they were worried for her, she reluctantly signed up.

The past week had not been pleasant for her. She did not talk much during work or battle, and spent every minute of spare time alone in her room. Even Yoko had to admit that she was reaching her breaking point.

Nevertheless, there was nothing else to do but keep going forward. She couldn’t bring Kamina back. The most she could do was continue to honor his memory. No matter how much it hurt, that had always been her way. And as for Simon…she still hoped that some part of him remained true to who he once was, but she had grown tired of trying. It hadn’t really amounted to anything anyway.

Yoko sighed again, but just as she did, she felt a pat on her back. She turned. “Kittan…”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

A beat of awkward silence. Kittan scratched the back of his neck.

“…Uh. So, you have anywhere to stay for the night?”

Yoko shook her head. She’d been thinking of camping somewhere outside the city.

“Well, I’m headed for Kiyoh’s place. Want to come with?”

She blinked. “Would that really be all right? I don’t want to intrude…their house must already be crowded…”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m sure they’d love to have you over!”

“Well…” Yoko thought about it. Come to think of it, it _had_ been a long time since she’d last seen any of Kittan’s sisters. And Dayakka…they were almost family, having come from the same village. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. “Okay, why not.”

Kittan beamed at her. She followed him out of the airfield and onto a dirt road leading to the suburbs. As they walked, she could tell that Kittan was trying to think of how to start up a conversation.

“Look…I don’t know what’s going on with you and Simon, but…me and the guys, we’ve all been worried.”

“I know. I appreciate it.”

“If there’s anything we can do…”

“It’s okay. It’s a personal problem.”

Kittan still didn’t look satisfied. “Well, hope you cheer up soon. The Gurren Brigade isn’t the same without you.”

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

They continued walking on in silence.

Soon, the sound of laughter caught her attention. Up ahead, there were five children playing in a ditch on the side of the road. Judging from their ages, they must have only been toddlers three years ago. Would they even remember Earth in another few years?

Above was a brilliant blue sky, with not a single cloud to be seen and unfamiliar flying creatures riding the winds in the distance. It was…beautiful. This was not the sky she’d grown up with, but it was a sky all the same, and for a new generation…

“More children are going to be born here, aren’t they?” Yoko said, musing out loud.

“Well yeah, that’s the idea, isn’t it?” Kittan said.

“They’re going to need someone to teach them. About Earth, about all our struggles to get here, how much we lost and how much we had to fight for what we have now.” Yoko paused before continuing, a part of her still resisting the thought of becoming attached to something again. “Maybe, after the war…maybe I could be that teacher someday.”

Kittan stared at her. “You, a teacher?”

“Yeah. …What’s with that look? It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”

“Hold on. You were a teacher??”

“Didn’t I tell you? That’s one of the things I was doing while I was away…”

Now Kittan’s mouth was hanging open. “…So _that’s_ what you meant when you said you had children...?”

Yoko burst out laughing, causing the children to look up from their game for a moment, startled. “What—what did you think I meant?! Don’t tell me that all this time, you thought I was…”

Kittan’s face turned bright red. “What was I supposed to think?! You left for six years and when you came back you started saying you had children and secrets and—“

Her sides were starting to hurt. “I was only teasing you that time…I can’t believe…” Yoko tried to say something to express the hilarity of the situation, but she could not stop laughing.

“Well, either way, I guess you’d do a good job at it…” Kittan mumbled, looking rather disgruntled.

Yoko wiped her eyes as she finally calmed down. It felt good to laugh. She hadn’t had a good laugh like that in what felt like years. It was too bad that it had to be at Kittan’s expense, but at least he was being a good sport about it.

They passed by the children, leaving them behind, but their voices still followed after her, reminding her of all those times she’d sat in the classroom at the end of the day, watching as her children played outside in the dying light of the sun.

Yoko sighed and looked up at the sky again. “…I wonder how long the fighting is going to continue?”

When they finally reached the suburbs, Kiyoh and Kiyal were standing outside of their house, waiting for their elder brother. And as soon as they came in sight, a small girl with curly blonde hair came running up to them with her arms outstretched.

“Uncle Kittan!”

“Hey, Anne! Still remember me, do ya?” Kittan scooped her up in his arms and went to greet his sisters.

Yoko simply watched with a smile until Kittan waved her over. Then, hoisting her rifle on her shoulder, she came over to join them.

 

* * *

  

The Gunspinner dropped them off at the parliament building in the heart of the city. They set off for the meeting room immediately. Kinon parted ways with them just before they entered, and Leeron was already in the room setting up his presentation when they came in.

“Hey, Leeron. Long time no see,” said Simon.

“Simon! It _has_ been a while, hasn’t it? I just love your new look!” For once, someone was neither shocked nor surprised.

As they sat down around the table, Leeron clapped his hands in delight. “Lucky me! I get to be locked in a room with three handsome men for a couple of hours!”

This statement caused the three of them to squirm awkwardly in their seats. Some things never changed.

“Shall we start?” Rossiu asked.

Simon shrugged. “Let’s get this over with,” said Viral, crossing his arms.

“Very well. I’ll go first.” Rossiu cleared his throat.

“As we discussed at our last meeting, we’ve introduced the plants and animals we brought from Earth into the environment. So far, many are flourishing, some are not. One species of grass in particular is doing so well that it’s spread outside of the colony. We’ve started regulating its growth to prevent it from taking over the local ecosystem until we can assess the possible damage…”

Simon yawned as Rossiu continued going through his notes.

“There have been calls from the civilians to build more hospitals and homes, but as we are still lacking in manpower, it’s been taking longer than anticipated. To resolve this, we’ve been encouraging families of large sizes in order to continue building up the population. We’ve also set up a curfew and instated a law for civilians to stay within the boundaries of the colony at all times unless they have received express permission from the government. After all, there is still a lot we do not know about this planet, and thus we’ve been sending research parties to go out and collect specimens of native organisms for study. We have taken note that a number of them have already been domesticated by the native Spiral race.”

At this point Rossiu nodded to Leeron, who started up his presentation and began explaining the Science Department’s recent findings. Simon zoned out. All he could understand was that it had to do with Spiral DNA and paths of evolution. Next to him, Viral had the well-practiced demeanor of someone appearing to be paying attention, but his eyes were unfocused. Rossiu listened attentively as usual, nodding at all of the main points. And Leeron seemed to be trying his best to speed things along.

Simon was just starting to contemplate the idea of taking a nap when Leeron finished. “Back to you, Rossiu.”

“Last month, one of the research parties did not return from their mission and have been missing ever since. We’ve sent out search parties, but have still found no sign of them. Right now we suspect that they may have been attacked by a predator or one of the native tribes. We’ve been facing similar problems in procuring natural resources. I believe this part falls under Viral’s jurisdiction.”

Viral sat up straight. “We’ve been facing almost daily attacks from the native Spiral race. Though primitive, they’ve proven to be clever and persistent. They are Spiral beings, after all. Currently we’re trying to move toward making peace with them, and have entered into negotiations with a few neighboring tribes. They can teach us much about this planet, and we have a lot to teach them in return. However, we are being cautious in regards to showing them how to handle technology. We won’t even let them near a mecha until our treaties are concrete and we’ve fully understood their language and customs.”

Simon smirked. Viral’s past dealings with humans were coming in handy. He and Rossiu, as former pilots of Gurren, were both trustworthy and took their jobs very seriously. Viral had the necessary experience for his position, put an effort into learning from his mistakes, and his immortality ensured stability in leadership for generations to come. As for Rossiu, he’d already built a civilization from scratch before; if he couldn’t do it, no one could. Whatever happened, Simon was confident that this colony was in good hands.

“Simon, now it’s your turn. How is the search for the Anti-Spiral headquarters coming?”

“I’ll keep this short for you— we haven’t made any progress.”

Rossiu looked concerned. “If we don’t make it any farther than Lord Genome’s era, we have little chance of defeating the Anti-Spirals…”

“No problem. We can hold out as long as we need to. Our power is infinite; we won’t fall so easily as our predecessors.”

Rossiu still looked concerned, and that wasn’t surprising, but now Viral was starting to share the same look. Even Leeron had a worried frown on his face.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“Simon…we’d like to review some of your latest exploits.” Rossiu shuffled through his notes. “Five months ago, you began destroying the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems of various planets. May I ask why?”

“It was an offensive strike. The Anti-Spirals had stopped attacking. We needed to drag their attention back to us in case they were searching for the colony. Not only that, but we were able to free other Spiral races at the same time. Two birds with one stone.”

Rossiu furrowed his eyebrows. “The debris raining down on the planets killed off entire populations of Spiral beings.”

Simon shrugged. “Collateral damage.”

“Three months ago, you successively blew up all but one of the planets in a single solar system.”

“The enemy is always setting traps for us. I wanted to try making one of my own for a change.”

“Did you take into account the effects this would have on the remaining planet? There were Spiral beings living there as well.”

“Hey, at least I left them alone, right?”

“Just this month, you actually destroyed the planet Erlith, causing the Erlithians to become extinct.”

“I’ve already been yelled at over that incident. Next.”

“And last week you were shouting that you would end the universe. I don’t know how you did it, but we heard it loud and clear even light years away.”

“That was just a bluff.”

“Not everyone would be willing to believe that. You are aware that we aren’t the only ones watching? It almost looks like you are _trying_ to make everyone hate you.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s unintentional.” He had just been following his instincts, after all.

Rossiu heaved an exasperated sigh. “Your methods are far too irresponsible and reckless.”

“And they work. Did you expect anything different? Besides, you never complained when we fought other Spiral beings before.”

“We were desperate back then, and hadn’t figured out how to communicate with them yet. But now that we know better, we should exercise more caution in how we deal with them.”

“You think I have time to think about stuff like that in the middle of a battle?”

“Exactly my point. From now on, I will be sending one of my subordinates along to advise you on these matters.”

Simon grimaced. “No thanks. I can handle things on my own.” He could just imagine someone like Guinble standing on the bridge, constantly undermining his authority. It would take forever to get anything done. Not to mention that if one of Rossiu’s little henchmen were to be trailing behind him all the time, he wouldn’t be able to meet with Nia…

“I believe you could use some help. This is far too serious of a matter to leave in one man’s hands.”

“I said _no thanks_. Besides, I already have Boota.”

“Excuse me for saying, but he was merely a pigmole just a few years ago. There should be someone better qualified—“

Simon slammed his hands on the table. “He’s been with me since Day One. There _isn’t_ anyone better.”

Rossiu was starting to lose his patience too. He turned to Leeron. “I think it’s by time we show him.”

Leeron sighed and brought up a new screen on his presentation. But rather than holding graphs or diagrams, this screen was blank. Instead, a raucous outpouring of noise assaulted their ears. It was voices— millions of voices in millions of different languages, all blending together in a chaotic deluge of sound.

After letting this play for a minute, Leeron closed the screen. In the abrupt silence that followed, Rossiu explained.

“We’ve been picking this up from all over the galaxy. The super computer was able to identify some of the languages, which leads us to believe that many of them are descendants of the Spiral Knights from the previous war. Survivors from your attacks on the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems have also been identified among them.”

“What are they saying?” Simon asked.

“From what little we’ve been able to translate, it appears they are all talking about the Anti-Spirals…and you. They seem to be making plans to build an alliance. Some of them may have already made it into space.”

“But we’ve only been in space for three years ourselves.”

Viral interjected. “Is it so surprising? Seven years after emerging from underground, you humans were sending a rocket to the moon. And not even three years after first venturing into space, we’ve already established a colony on an alien planet. Where will we be in another ten years? I hate to say it, but I can understand how the Anti-Spirals feel. The speed at which you Spirals advance is terrifying.”

Rossiu nodded. “Not to mention that the other Spiral races must have also kept their ancient weapons as we did. Once the Anti-Spirals started to devote all of their attention to us, it was only a matter of time.”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “And what does this have to do with me exactly?”

“Don’t you understand? By every right you should be _leading_ them in the fight against the Anti-Spirals. But instead, they are whispering and plotting behind our backs. Note that none of them has contacted us directly yet. Why? Because they are _afraid_ of us. Afraid of _you_. You are just another enemy to them. And if they are truly the same as we are, then they will rise up against us too. Even if you do defeat the Anti-Spirals, at this rate, there may well be an even greater war waiting for us afterwards.”

Simon briefly thought this over. An even _greater_ war? Excitement began to simmer inside his chest. “If they want a fight, I’ll give it to them.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. They won’t stand a chance against us.”

“It’s not that simple,” Viral said. “They have Spiral Power, just the same as you. They have the same potential. And if _all_ of them come together to fight against us at once…”

“What? They’ll wipe us out completely? I won’t let that happen.”

“No. Something worse might happen,” Rossiu said. “The Spiral Nemesis.”

Simon snorted. “You’re really taking that nonsense seriously?”

“The Anti-Spirals are serious enough about it. We should consider it a legitimate cause of concern.”

“Well in case you’ve forgotten, them worrying about the Spiral Nemesis is what started all of this in the first place.”

“We don’t have to be so extreme as them. But there’s no need to run carelessly ahead into a conflict that has a good chance of causing it to occur.”

“How about I just show them their place _before_ it occurs?”

“Haven’t you been listening? There’s no guarantee that—“

“Don’t underestimate me, Rossiu. That was the Anti-Spirals’ first mistake.”

“What if they come after the colony first? We’re barely surviving as it is! We don’t have the luxury to be so reckless!”

“When did we ever have the luxury? We’ve come this far fighting every threat against us. I don’t see why we should stop now.”

They stared at him incredulously.

“That’s the way I do things. If you don’t like it, find someone else.”

Sighing, Rossiu massaged his temples. “…You give us no choice. We’re cutting off ties.”

“What?”

“We will have no contact from now on. We will not lend you any support. You will not return here ever again. Essentially, you will be on your own and we will have nothing to do with you anymore.”

“We’re already short on numbers, and you want to split us apart permanently?”

“You refuse having an advisor and are resistant to changing your methods. We have very many neighbors out there. If you want to start a fight, then this is all I can do to protect the colony from them.”

“Now this is starting to sound familiar. Aren’t you going to arrest me this time?”

“Wouldn’t you just escape again if I did?”

They glared at each other.

Rossiu shook his head. “Simon. I am well aware of the fact that we still need you. I also know that there is no one among us who can replace you. So you may do what you think is best. But I will _not_ stand to let this colony be taken accountable for your actions.”

Simon sat back, still glaring. “…All right. If that means I can do whatever I want without you breathing down my neck all the time, then I’ll agree to it.”

“Very well,” Rossiu said grimly. “Then we will start negotiations. Leeron, would you take notes?”

Looking reluctant, Leeron began typing.

“You can keep the Arc Gurren,” Simon said first. “You’re the one who found it, and you’ll need it if the colony ever needs to evacuate again.”

“Likewise, the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren belongs to you.”

“I’ll need to keep Lord Genome too, if you still want us looking for the Anti-Spiral headquarters.”

“What about your crew?”

“It’s their choice if they want to come along or not. A lot of them have family here. I won’t blame anyone who chooses to stay. But I can’t keep the ship running by myself.”

“Then we’ll make an announcement after this meeting is over. They will have a day to make their decision and say their goodbyes. We will restock your resources as has already been planned, but this will be the last time. After tomorrow, you’ll have to look elsewhere. We will also cease sending monthly reports. All contact between you and the colony will now be prohibited.”

“Wait. My crew needs those reports for morale. It’s what keeps them fighting.”

Rossiu pursed his lips, looking hesitant. Simon could guess what must be going through his mind. There was a good chance that Gimmy would be one of the crewmembers coming along. Rossiu had put himself in charge of the twins’ well-being when he left his village. This would separate them forever. “…I’m afraid I can’t make any exceptions.”

So he was serious about this. No, Rossiu was always serious. It was what made him so dependable, even if he was a pain in the neck.

They finished the negotiations without any further disagreements. It was almost business as usual. But when they stood up at the end, there was a tension in the air. As Simon turned to leave, Rossiu hung back.

“Simon.”

He paused by the door.

“You aren’t the only one here with blood on your hands.” That was true. Viral had killed many humans in the past, and Rossiu himself had sacrificed the majority of the human race to save as many as he could. That wasn’t something forgotten easily. Even now, the guilt was obvious to see just by looking at his face. “But _some_ of us are trying to make up for the things that we’ve done. Please consider that.”

Simon chose not to answer.

 

* * *

  

If someone were to ask him how he felt about the whole thing, and if he were to answer honestly, Simon would have to say that he was not very surprised. Somewhere inside, he knew intuitively that this would happen eventually. Just as he knew intuitively that the Spiral Nemesis was indeed a real threat.

In fact, if there was one thing that did surprise him, it was how conveniently all of his past actions had served to bring him to this point. He hadn’t meant it to happen that way. It was as if his Spiral Power was leading him, using him, for an express purpose. Was he defying fate or simply going along with it? He couldn’t tell anymore.

To Rossiu’s credit, he announced the split as the result of “a difference of opinion” and that it was necessary for the protection of the colony. There was no mention of the Spiral races congregating, most likely to avoid a mass panic.

Simon didn’t stick around to see the reactions. He left the city on foot, heading to the very edge of the valley. From there, he hiked his way up the side of a cliff face. It was good exercise after being up in space for so long. By the time he made it to the top, the sun was already setting.

And there overlooking the city, silhouetted against the blazing sky, was a sword. Bro’s sword.

Three years ago, when he and Viral broke out from prison, Simon could think of nowhere else to run but to Bro’s gravesite. Maybe it was too obvious for a hiding place, but at that point everyone was too concerned with evacuating anyway. Rossiu didn’t even bother to announce that he’d escaped. And maybe that was why, for Yoko and the others, searching for him caused such a delay that by the time they did find him, there was little else they could do besides evacuate themselves.

It was on that occasion that he had brought the sword along with him. Whether it was simply because he wanted a good luck charm, or a part of him already knew that the Earth was done for, he still wasn’t sure. What mattered now was that this was all he had left of his Bro. When they first chose this planet for their colony, Simon had left it here so that Bro could continue to watch over humanity in some form. But now…

Simon sat on the cliff edge beside the sword. “Great view, huh?” he said.

Only the wind was there to answer him, but in his mind, he could still imagine Bro looking at him with a broad smile and replying, ‘Yeah, it is.’

He continued sitting there as the sun sank into the horizon and darkness fell, revealing a ceiling of stars arranged in patterns entirely different from the view once seen on Earth. Absentmindedly, he ran his hands through the dirt, just to feel the soil between his fingers. How ironic; ten years ago, he’d barely gone a day without having his hands dirty, but now his hands were clean so much of the time, he had to actually seek out a chance to make them filthy again.

But it wasn’t the same. The earth here smelled different. A few times he’d tried digging a hole for nostalgia’s sake, and somehow, it had just felt…wrong. He didn’t belong here. It was as if his body was screaming that at him, over and over, with every turn of his drill.

So now, he dug holes in space. The great no-man’s land. Science, diplomacy, delicate matters of the heart…he had no shortage of weaknesses. But this one talent carried him far. It defined him. Telling him not to dig was tantamount to telling him not to exist.

Simon lay down on the ground on his back, staring up at the night sky. The two moons shone down on him like twin spotlights, with the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren in between.

He’d have to apologize to Boota later on for making him miss seeing this planet for the last time. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He had the feeling Boota felt the same way about this place.

…How would Nia have felt? Would she have liked living here if given the chance? Could she have made him want to stay? If he had known her before she became the Anti-Spiral Messenger…would things have been different?

Simon caught himself starting to fantasize and shook his head. No, there was no use considering the possibilities now. He had just been banished from this place. It was too late to have any regrets. It wouldn’t have bothered him if he hadn’t started thinking about her anyway…

He recalled the promises they made to each other. To be honest, he still had no idea how he was going to go through with it, or what he would do after. He’d never put any thought into the future before. In the end, he still found himself relying on instinct to get him through.

When Nia said that she would stop him…he had actually been truthful saying that he would like to see her try. The thought of seeing her put in such an effort excited him. But he had doubts that it was possible at this point. Even if he wanted to stop himself.

Did that mean the Anti-Spirals were right all along? Was he just going to drag Nia from one hell into another?

Simon frowned. No. He refused to fall into that line of thinking. Besides, the very fact that he even cared enough to think about this now was something. Instinct brought them together. It couldn’t be all bad. And better to have Nia choose for herself where she would end up, instead of letting them choose for her.

He closed his eyes, trying to go to sleep and put his mind to rest. But his body, as if it could _feel_ the millions of new enemies coming up out of the woodwork, continued buzzing with energy. In all, he probably only got a few hours of sleep that night. When he opened his eyes again, it was already dawn.

He stood up and dusted himself off in the dim morning light. The city was quiet down below, with only a few signs of movement. He caught sight of a pair of Gulaparls launching from the airfield. They twisted around each other in flight— the Tornado Formation. That kind of coordinated movement could only come from Gimmy and Darry.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Simon turned to look at the sword. “Well, I should get going now,” he said, but didn’t move. “…I’m never coming back here, you know.”

The sword did not say anything, of course. Simon wasn’t sure how Bro would respond in this situation.

“…Do you want to come with me?"

If Bro had survived to go into space, would he have liked it? The universe was a wild and beautiful wasteland, stretching on farther than the imagination. No ceiling, no walls, no restrictions. Exactly what Bro had been craving for all during his youth. Yes, he would have loved going into space.

 _But like this?_ asked a nagging voice in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Yoko. _Would he want to go like this?_

Frowning, Simon pushed the voice back into the recesses of his mind. He stepped forward and pulled the sword from where it was lodged into the ground, then slipped it onto his own belt. Now he was ready to leave.

He took one last look back at the view of the city, breathing in the clean air, and uttered a question under his breath. He could not guess what the answer would be to this one either.

“Bro, are you proud of me now?”

 

* * *

  

Overall, the stay at Dayakka and Kiyoh’s house had been…fun. But the announcement made in the late afternoon came as quite a shock. Well, for Yoko it wasn’t a complete surprise, but it was so sudden, and overshadowed what could have otherwise been a very relaxing evening.

In the morning, Kittan went downtown to try and get hold of Kinon before the day got too busy. Yoko tagged along out of a lack of anything else to do. On the way, they were stopped by people asking if they knew anything about the split in leadership. Rumors were running about rampant.

Knowing Rossiu, and with how Simon had become lately, Yoko knew that some sort of clash had been inevitable. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spoke to Leeron later in the day. Though he wouldn’t reveal all the details, it was enough for her to understand that there had been some major disagreement at the meeting the other day. “You’ll find out on your own eventually,” he said. “You are still going, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Yoko nodded. “What else can I do?”

“I’ll give you a word of advice. Try to rely on other people more. You can’t do everything by yourself.”

“I’ve already tried. Two times, even.” And she only made things worse in the end.

“It couldn’t hurt to try again, right?” Leeron winked.

 _It might_ , she thought. But nonetheless, as the day drew to a close, she found herself wondering what Kittan was going to choose. He hadn’t seemed particularly upset the other night from what she could tell. He’d just gone on playing with Anne as if nothing was different. Maybe he intended to stay after all.

But she found him again on the airfield when it was time to leave. “Hey, Yoko. You’re going? I thought you wanted to be a teacher.”

“If we don’t fight, there might not be any children to teach,” she said simply.

He smirked. “Yeah, good point.”

“What about you? You have family here…” Just that moment, she spotted Kittan’s sisters and Dayakka on the airfield. So they’d come to see him off…

“Well, look at it this way. Every day we’re out there might be our last, right? So does it make any difference that we’re leaving now compared to before?”

“But…you’ll never see them again…”

“You think I wasn’t prepared for that all those other times?” Kittan looked back at his family with a wide smile. “’Sides, I’m more useful to them out there than I am here.”

Yoko smiled, feeling a sudden fondness, though followed by a shadow of melancholy. “…Good point.”

Nearby, Gimmy and Darry were wishing each other luck, both vowing to do their best with determined eyes. Everywhere around, there were people exchanging hugs, shedding tears. That’s right…this was still a time of war. It was too early to think of peace yet.

Even now, people were making sacrifices to create a future. Whether that future belonged to them or not, it didn’t matter. This was why they fought.

After saying goodbye to Dayakka and the others, Yoko went to board the Arc Gurren with a sense of renewed purpose. Coming here was worth it after all.

 

* * *

  

As it turned out, only slightly less than a quarter of Simon’s crew decided to remain on the colony. Much fewer than he expected. So either most of them had no family to leave behind, or they understood the importance of their role in fighting the Anti-Spirals. He didn’t know or care if any decided to come out of loyalty.

When the ships docked again, Simon had to wait as crewmembers from on board the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren who chose to live on the colony came over, and supplies from the Arc Gurren were transferred. In the meantime, Viral had some last words to say.

“I plan on watching over humanity here. You have your own fate to decide. You should think hard on what you plan to do when the time comes.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“Stop trying to guilt-trip me. It’s getting annoying.”

“This is serious, Simon. If you do _anything_ that puts this colony in danger, I swear, I will blacken your name for as long as I continue to live.”

“…Is that supposed to be a threat?” Simon looked at him with a sardonic smile. “It’s not a very good one.” As if he ever cared about such a thing as reputation.

“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”

Simon stopped smiling.

Viral held out his hand. They shook on it once with a firm grip, a promise made between former rivals and former comrades. They said nothing more to each other after that.

Boota was waiting when Simon returned to the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren. After telling everyone to get back to their stations, the two of them stepped into an elevator heading to the main bridge. “You look tired,” Boota commented.

Now that he mentioned it, Simon did feel rather weary. “Yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“If you’d like, I could take things from here while you go and rest.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Boota’s eyes were now on the sword that hung at Simon’s side.

He should have known that it was no use hiding anything from him. “Actually…maybe I will take that offer. Thanks.”

They got off the elevator. Simon started down the hall toward the captain’s quarters, but Boota’s voice called after him. “Simon…”

“Hm?” He turned.

“I took on this form so I could be more useful to you. Was it…worth it? Am I being useful?”

Simon understood what he meant. When Boota was small, he had always been there at his side to comfort him. But that wasn’t possible anymore now that he had other duties.

Simon smiled and walked back over. “Yeah. You’re a great help.” He reached up to pat his friend’s head.

Boota’s mouth opened in surprise. After all, they hadn’t done this ever since he took on humanoid form. “…I’m glad,” he said finally, heartened. “I’ll do all that I can.”

Boota took his leave, and Simon went to his room, reflecting on how easy it was to please some people compared to others. In any case, it was a relief to be back.

Setting the sword on top of his desk, Simon collapsed in his chair. He stared at the sword blankly for a few minutes and sighed. Now that he brought it here, he wished he hadn’t taken it. He felt as if he’d just stolen something.

He looked out the window, just as the lights turned off, then flickered back on as the ship entered the Galactic Spiral Abyss. It was all a familiar routine, but he’d never seen it from this room before. It made him feel strangely detached. When Cibela’s voice announced that they were back in deep space, he closed his eyes, but still couldn’t fall asleep.

Usually when he fell into this type of mood, Simon would search for some sort of distraction, but now he was too tired even for that. It wasn’t a bodily exhaustion, he realized, for despite the lack of sleep, the Spiral Power inside him continued churning without rest.

He wondered if Nia was going to come anytime soon. And as soon as that thought entered his mind, a desperate yearning to see her broke the surface of his consciousness.

His hands clenched into fists. Damn. He couldn’t stand waiting. What was it he planned to say to her again? He couldn’t remember. He could think of a million things he wanted to do to her, but not the right words.

Then the familiar feeling ran down his spine, and he opened his eyes. There she was, standing right in front of him.

Simon stood up immediately.

Nia began to speak. “You disappeared again. Wherever you humans go at these times seems to be untraceable to us, but we—“

He didn’t let her finish. Wrapping his arms around her, Simon pressed her to his chest in a close embrace. Nia tensed, and he heard her gasp in his ear.

Simon said nothing. To hell with words. Right now, all he needed was to feel her against him, to have her fill this void that he’d carved in himself. He knew this left him wide open, but she could go ahead and stab him in the back for all he cared. He was tired of playing games.

After a while, Nia finally relaxed, and tentatively brought her own arms around his back. Her touch was gentle and soothing. Simon tightened his grip around her in return and buried his face in her hair.

He was not sure how long they stayed like that, both silent and still and warm. It felt like hours, yet much too short at the same time. But as far as he was concerned, the universe could have ended right then and there and he wouldn’t have noticed.


	7. Irregular

The Anti-Spiral Messenger’s main role was to be a conduit of information. To deliver and receive, impartial and without grievance. Every time they were analyzed, the Anti-Spirals took in the entirety of their existence— memories and experiences— anything that could be accumulated as data.

The actual process of being analyzed was not painful. The hive mind was always connected, after all. Nia used to feel it as merely becoming synchronized with her greater whole, and the information flowed between them like water, entirely natural.

When did that stop being normal? Now, whenever they began, a shiver of apprehension ran through her body. As if with every thread of memory they unraveled, a grain of sand dropped in an hour glass.

What would they find next? How would they interpret it? What action would they take based on that interpretation? What would they order her do, and…would she be able to do it?

Such questions never occurred to her before. A part of her still tried to deny it, but by now Nia realized…she was changing.

Though it was accurate to say that her years as a human were all a lie, she steadily continued to recover memories— memories that had been there all along, but that she had forgotten when the Anti-Spirals dismissed them as unimportant.

The cool splash of water in the river. The taste of the old beastman’s cooking. The orange sky at dusk. The occasional dark shapes of mecha soaring in the distance. The hard floors of the palace, and the equally hard gaze of her father as she played by his side. The wonder that she felt when she stepped out of the cave for the first time on her own two feet, witnessing the beauty of the outside world.

As she looked back on these with new eyes, and learned to apply them in her interactions with Simon, Nia began to attach significance to each experience again. Hardly the behavior expected of a Messenger.

Nia closed her eyes, trying to stay calm as they probed her mind. Scenes from the past few days flashed by one after the other. This was normal, she told herself. This was nothing. It would be over soon. There was no harm in them seeing all of this. It was to be expected. It was for the good of the universe. It was—

NO!

Her eyes shot open and her mind clenched down, grinding the flow of memories to a halt.

Not _that_ moment! She could not allow them to take _that_. It was only for her to see. She could not let them…she could not let…

_Let? You have no choice in the matter._

And suddenly, there was pain.

NO!

The harder she resisted, the more it hurt, but Nia still fought to close off her mind. The Anti-Spirals continued prying with composure, confident that they would get what they needed.

NO! NO! If she could have just one thing…a single thing to herself…they could have everything else, but not _that_.

But still they continued, and as the pain increased, Nia was losing her grip. A billion minds against her own. They were too strong. She couldn’t keep this up for long, she had to get away, she had to escape…

_And just where do you think you can escape to?_

Her head felt like it was splitting apart. She grit her teeth. They were getting inside. Her struggle to keep them out only made them more eager to find what she was hiding. They would break her if they had to.

With a final flash of intense pain, they got through. The memory played itself out for them against her will. Simon catching her by surprise as usual, but this time instead of teasing around their proximity, pulling her to him at once, his grip needy and expressing feelings he would not (could not?) say in words. The closeness by itself was enough to make it memorable, but the fact that he took comfort in her, and showed her…vulnerability… _that_ was worth treasuring.

And it was just what the Anti-Spirals wanted to see.

They discussed the development amongst themselves, pleased by the sign of weakness. Meanwhile, Nia trembled from the still throbbing aftershocks of pain and chagrin at failing to protect the memory. And worst of all, to have been turned on by those on her own side…

_It is you who have turned on us, Messenger._

The Anti-Spirals turned back to her. _You are becoming insubordinate. You thought we have not noticed? We see everything. You wish to stop him without killing him? You little fool. The Spirals cannot be stopped, they can only be suppressed or destroyed. Spiral Power has tainted you, and it has affected your reasoning._

She shivered. So they knew after all. “I…I only wanted…”

_Wants? Desires? There is no need for such things. We chose to give those up willingly in order to protect the universe. Have you forgotten?_

That was right, exactly right. But…

Another memory emerged from her aching mind. The exact moment when her human life had ended, when she transformed into an Anti-Spiral. What she had felt then.

”I was not willing. You never gave me a choice.”

Suddenly, all the things that Simon had said were starting to make sense.

 _What difference does it make?_ they reprimanded. _If you are not part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. This is the only way you are allowed to live._

How was this living? She could not even keep her own thoughts to herself.

_And what is the alternative? Living as the Spirals do, bringing the universe ever closer to destruction? How selfish and conceited. What makes you think your freedom is worth such a risk?_

Simon thought it was worth it. Just look at what he had done to tell her so.

_Spiral Power is what dictates all of his actions. Do not be fooled. It is not you who he cares for, but merely satisfying his own instinctual urges._

But he said…

_That he would save you? It is not even possible. What is there left to save? He may try, but he will only be grasping at smoke. You cannot exist without us. You do not even have a will of your own._

What they said made sense, but now she understood…it was not the complete truth.

“If I had no will, you would not be trying to reason with me now.”

The Anti-Spirals had no response to this. Nia felt a small flutter of triumph in her heart, but it was quickly cut down.

_No matter. We almost have all the information we need. Only a little more, and then we will be done with you. Only a little longer._

Something rose within her, chilling and stifling. “What do you mean?” she asked, though she already knew.

_We have no need for a Messenger who cannot follow orders. When you have run out of use, you will be erased._

So they were going to use the information she’d gathered on Simon somehow. But she could not tell what they were planning. They were keeping things from her. They must have closed her off from a part of the hive mind without her realizing it. They were going to kill him, and then her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Fear and doubt took over again.

_A predictable response. Once you open yourself to hope, it only becomes easier to succumb to despair. You should have already known this. But it appears Spiral Power corrupts easily, even with Messengers. We will take this into account in the future. Now go. Pretend to run away if you’d like. We can bring you back anytime._

Once they dismissed her, Nia left at once. And of course, there was only one place she wanted to go. There was no use worrying whether it would bring trouble now; it was already too late…

Simon jumped to his feet as soon as he saw her. He had been reading some papers at his desk, but he seemed to forget about them at once. Though he had a smile on his face at first, as he came closer, his expression changed. He seemed to notice that something was wrong.

Nia sunk to the floor on her knees, feeling faint. Simon rushed to catch her. “Nia?!”

Kneeling on the floor beside her, supporting her weight with his arm, he continued repeating her name. “Nia, what’s wrong? What happened?!” He sounded so serious…

Nia did not answer. What could she say? The Anti-Spirals were right— she could not be saved. And how could she warn him if she didn’t even know what they were planning?

So instead, she merely rested her head on his shoulder, grasping the lapel of his coat in her right hand. He jolted slightly in surprise. She didn’t blame him; she even surprised herself with her forwardness.

“Nia…?” Simon said softly, laying his hand on her back. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

She shook her head against his shoulder. Right now, she only wanted just to be like this.

It was silly, she knew. Even now, as she clung to him, he infected her. Every touch, every breath, every whisper. Was it survival instinct that brought her to him? Or something else? Had his Spiral Power affected her that much? But she could not pull away. She was too caught up in him now. And even as one side of her screamed that it was wrong, the other side wondered why it had taken so long for them to become close.

How much longer did they have...?

At last, Nia found something to say. “I never should have come to you.”

He was silent for a moment before replying. “It’s a little too late to be saying that, don’t you think?”

“I know,” she said. “…I don’t want to go back.”

“So don’t. Stay here.”

“I can’t.”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“It’s as easy as you want it to be.”

“It’s _not_. It may seem easy to you, but I will always be a puppet. I cannot escape, even if I wanted to. It’s not a matter of will, it’s a matter of substance. You and I are different. I can never be like you, and you can never understand me. It is all hopeless. It is all…"

She expected Simon to interrupt her, but this time he didn’t. She trailed off on her own, realizing the uselessness of making him accept this.

He sighed. “Were you always so negative?”

“…No.”

“Yeah, I figured.” He began weaving his fingers through her hair. It had a calming effect on her. She felt safe. She knew it was only an illusion, but for now, Nia wanted to be comforted.

Simon had a point. Maybe she _could_ have believed in him when she was still a human. But now, after being an Anti-Spiral for so long…it was difficult.

“There were many things I did not know back then,” she said, voicing her thoughts out loud. “Maybe that made things easier.”

“And what about now?”

“There are _still_ many things I do not know...so many things that are uncertain.” How was she to know what to have faith in? She’d believed in her father, believed in the Anti-Spirals…was there anything that was absolute?

“So how do you cope with that?”

She glanced up at him. “I don’t understand.”

“When there are things that I don’t know, I don’t worry about them. I leave that to people who can figure it out. I just do whatever I can with what I already have. How about you?”

She laid her head back on his shoulder, contemplative. “If there is something I don’t know…I want to find out. But if I can’t…I used to try imagining what the answer might be. Like with my father…I wanted to ask him why he abandoned me, but he was already gone. So I imagined what he would have said. I imagined that I made him upset because I forgot to pick up my dolls, and I would apologize, and he would forgive me. Then I would have gone back to live at the palace and everything would be the way it used to be. I knew it was impossible, but…it made me feel better.”

Simon’s hand stopped and did not move for a while.

“Did I say something strange?”

“No, it’s…it’s fine. That’s a good strategy too.” He continued combing through her hair.

“I didn’t want to believe he was a bad person.”

“He did a lot of bad things.”

“Yes, the old man told me. But I could not understand _why_. Would he really do such terrible things without any reason?” Of course, she did find out the truth when her Anti-Spiral genes awakened, but after that she no longer cared. Nia sighed. “…Do you regret killing my father?”

“No. …And yes. But what’s done is done.”

She nodded against his shoulder. Defeating Lord Genome was what eventually caused the destruction of the planet. It was what made her become an Anti-Spiral. But he couldn’t have known all that. Like he said, he had only done what he could. And that just happened to coincide with the path of the Spiral. Could she really condemn him for that?

“I forgive you,” she whispered.

Simon’s hand stopped again. He gently pushed her away and stood up, leaving her on the floor. When Nia peered up at him, he looked uncomfortable and turned away.

“Simon…?”

“I can’t accept that,” he said.

“What?”

“I can’t accept your forgiveness. I don’t deserve it.”

“But…”

“I never asked for it.”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes. Maybe.”

Nia tried to puzzle this out. True, the things he had done were not the sort to be easily forgiven. Even up to a short while ago, she had considered him unforgiveable. But once she accepted that the Anti-Spirals’ logic could be flawed, and recalling her previous life as a human, she found it surprisingly easy.

She understood now. He wasn’t just a mindless monster. Nor was he a calculating fiend. He had just been hurting for a very long time. This wasn’t what anyone had told her. She had observed it herself.

“I won’t take it back.”

He sighed. “Only if you can forgive your father. _Then_ I’ll accept it.”

“What does my father have to do with it?” She stood up and looked at him closely. Come to think of it…he’d been acting oddly since she first mentioned him.

Simon shook his head. “Never mind. Forget it.”

“Simon…do you know something?” It was just a hunch. She could have very well been wrong. But Simon remained silent, neither confirming nor denying, so she pressed on. “Did my father tell you anything before he died?”

“Something cryptic about the moon, yeah. Lot of good that did me.” He tried to laugh it off. Nia got the feeling that he was avoiding something.

"You were the last to see him alive. If you do know something…anything…about my father…” She hesitated. “…I would really like to know."

Simon glanced at her. Then he quickly looked away again. “I think you would feel better not knowing,” he said wearily.

“I don’t care!” Her outburst shocked both of them.

Nia’s heartbeat quickened. Now, more than ever, she needed to know. Maybe, if she did, it would help clear up some of the turmoil inside of her. Maybe something would change.

“Please, Simon, tell me.” She put her hand on his arm, clenching the sleeve. “Please…”

Simon kept his mouth shut for a long time. Then finally…

“This is so stupid,” he said with a derisive laugh. “I can’t even say no.” It took her a few seconds to realize he was talking to himself.

Simon turned to head towards the door. “Come with me,” he said. Perplexed, Nia followed along.

He guided her through the halls of the ship, going deeper and deeper. The place was like a maze; even if she knew where they were headed, Nia saw that she had no hope of finding it on her own.

Simon seemed to have memorized all of the most sparsely used routes. They only came across another human twice. Both times, they dodged into another hall out of sight before they were found, Simon hiding her behind him while he listened and waited. Once the other human entered a room, they continued going.

“What if someone sees me?” Nia whispered.

“I’ll worry about that if it happens,” he whispered back.

At last, they reached a room. It was vast and dark inside, with lights blinking at them from various machines. He took her even deeper from there, leading the way through the gloom.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked, looking around.

“Because if you want to know more about your father, I’m not the one who should be telling you.”

Nia was about to ask him to clarify his statement, when she froze in her tracks. They’d entered an open space in the middle of the room, and straight ahead she saw something illuminated by an eerie green light. And then she understood.

It was her father’s head, planted inside of a tall glass tank.

Its eyes were closed for the moment, but as she came closer, they opened and stared at her without blinking, taking in the situation.

The face was just as she’d remembered it. The same hard gaze…

A hand on her shoulder suddenly made her jump. She looked to find Simon watching her. “Nia, are you all right?”

Nia opened her mouth to answer, but no sound would come out. She was too shocked.

Simon seemed to understand. She thought she could detect an ‘I’m sorry’ in his expression before he gave her shoulder a slight squeeze and said, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

He left the room, leaving her alone with the head.

The first words that managed to leave her mouth were questions. “How? Why…?”

The head spoke. “I am a biological computer developed from the genes of the Spiral King Lord Genome. The humans created me for the purpose of learning more about my past and motivations.”

“How long…?”

“Three years.”

So Simon had been keeping this from her the entire time.

She reached out her hand to touch the glass. “Father, I…”

“I may have his memories, but I am not your true father. The Lord Genome you knew is dead.”

She drew her hand back. “Y…yes, I understand.” But it was the same voice. Only his tone was slightly different. And this was the closest she would ever get to speaking to the real thing. It felt surreal, almost like a miracle had taken place.

Nia gulped, quickly trying to recall all the thoughts she’d had about her father when she was human. There used to be so much she wanted to say.

“Father…I’m sorry I was not at your side when you died. It must have been so lonely. If there was anything I could have done…”

“You could have done nothing. I made sure of it.”

She flinched. So it was not some mistake…he had done it intentionally.

Everything she could say would just take her back to that question. There was no avoiding it. Yet though she’d wanted to know for so long, now that she had her chance, she found that she was afraid of hearing the answer.

“Father…” Nia took a deep breath, gathering courage. “Why did you put me in that box? What did I do that was wrong?”

“It was not what you did. It was what you were about to become.”

“Become?”

“Human.”

“But I already was human…wasn’t I?”

“No, you were a doll.”

“A doll?”

“So long as you were a doll, I tolerated you. But once you began acquiring the qualities of a Spiral being— free thought, desire, ambition— you became a hindrance. You were no longer needed.”

A doll? “But…”

“I lived over a thousand years protecting the Earth. I needed some entertainment. That was your purpose.”

“But what did I…”

“You wanted to know why you were born. That was enough.”

Now she remembered. That was when it started. That was when he distanced himself from her. “Why…it was only a question…”

“You asked far too many questions.”

“I loved you…I was your loyal daughter…”

“Do you think that made you any different from all your brothers and sisters?”

That’s right. He’d killed them too. Left them to die alone in that valley…

Tears welled up in her eyes.

It was the same, exactly the same. She had made the same mistake twice, and both times she was punished for it. A doll, a tool. The Spiral King, the Anti-Spirals…it made no difference. She only existed for someone else’s convenience after all.

At last, this was the answer she had been looking for. This was what she was meant for.

“So this is the reason I was born.”

What had she been expecting? She should have already known. But again, she had begun to hope… Hope for what? That there was more to her past than what was already obvious? That she could face Simon someday and look him in the eyes as an equal? Perhaps she even hoped for some bit of happiness, freedom, privacy, choice…

It was all preposterous. But now that those fragile hopes had been crushed, it hurt. It hurt. It hurt. And she could not stop the tears from falling.

But then a low mumbling caught her ear.

“To think I would be proven wrong by that upstart. All that power and his greatest insight is revealed to be something so maudlin. I wonder what my old comrades would think of what our legacy has amounted to.”

Nia looked up. Who did he mean? Was he talking about Simon? Why? “Father…?” she said.

Lord Genome, seeing that he had her attention now, spoke louder as he continued.

“He is gifted, that is true, and has surpassed me in many ways, but he could never be as brilliant as I was. He had no direction. I was resigned to watch him fall to ruin just as I did. But recently, that seems to have changed. He’s been coming here, asking about you. And never did he seem so interested, not even when I explained to him the secrets of immortal life.”

Nia listened intently in silence, the remaining tears dripping down her cheeks.

“He spoke of you as a person, took offense for you, and berated himself on your behalf. I thought him a fool. I did not believe that you could still hold individuality after all these years. …But now, seeing you here as you are, I know that I was mistaken.”

Mistaken? What was he saying? “What do you mean?”

“It seems you have not yet realized the risk he has taken in bringing you here. Up to now, the Anti-Spirals were unaware of my existence, and as long as they remained ignorant, the humans had an important trump card.”

Nia blinked. True enough, the shock of seeing her father again was so great that the Anti-Spiral agenda hadn’t even occurred to her yet. “But now they’ll know. When they analyze me again, they’ll know…”

“Yes. He is aware of that. But he brought you here nonetheless, because he believed that you were still yourself. He would not take such a risk for nothing. Whatever he thought in the beginning, it is clear to me now that he considers you as much of a person as he is. And despite all of his past failures, it would appear that this time, he is right.”

He didn’t say it with any kindness or sympathy. He was blunt, and he was truthful. He was just stating the facts.

But to Nia, it meant everything.

Because now, she saw. There was a light side to the dark. Though her father had abandoned her, the old beastman saved her. That was the reason she was still here today. And now, Simon wanted to do the same for her again…

And this time she cried for an entirely different reason.

 

* * *

  

Simon stood leaning against the wall across from the room with his arms crossed, staring steadily at the door. He had no idea how Nia would react to this. All he knew was that she couldn’t move forward unless she faced her own demons at last. There was nothing to do now but wait.

He tapped his fingers restlessly against his arm. How long had she been in there? Ten minutes? Twenty? He kept telling himself not to run back in and disrupt them, but restraint was not something he exercised often…

Then the door opened.

“Nia?” Simon straightened up.

Nia stepped out, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

She was crying? Oh shit. This was a bad idea. Such a bad idea.

He quickly tried to think of something to say that would comfort her, but then Nia lowered her hand and looked at him. He was immediately dumbstruck.

It was as if a shadow had lifted from her face.

Her eyes, though still holding traces of tears, were clear and open. Her cheeks were pink from crying, but the touch of color brightened her whole appearance.

And she was smiling.

Actually _smiling_.

This was…such a good idea.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Uh?” He’d lost all eloquence.

“Thank you for everything.” Her expression was sweet and warm.

She was so beautiful.

“Y…yeah. Sure.”

He was finally snapped out of his stupor by the sound of footsteps down the hall.

“Shit…” Moving quickly, he took Nia by the shoulders and pushed her back into the computer room. The door closed behind them. Simon stood with his back against the wall, listening closely as the footsteps approached. They passed right by the room without pausing, and the sound gradually grew faint again.

Simon exhaled in relief, then sucked the air right back in as Nia pressed herself against him. She let out a small contented sigh. The feel of her breath on his throat made his heart pound.

Winding his left arm around her waist, Simon looked into her eyes. Even in the darkness, something about her atmosphere still seemed radiant. So this was Nia as she truly was, unmarred and pure.

He touched the side of her face with his right hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. It was warm and still a little wet.

He wanted to kiss her. Badly. But how would she respond to it? He’d been trying to lay off the advances once he realized she didn’t understand the concept of flirting, but this and that were different.

Simon decided to take a chance on it. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. It was brief. Then he pulled back to see her reaction.

Nia looked confused for a few seconds, until a look of understanding came into her eyes.

“Simon…is this a serious kiss?”

He smiled at her. “Yeah. It’s serious.” He kissed her again. This time, longer.

Nia’s eyelids fluttered closed. She did not resist. Encouraged, he deepened the kiss.

After a while, her hand began tugging at his coat. When he pulled away, she gasped. “I can’t breathe.”

He laughed. “You breathe through your nose.”

“I do?”

Clearly, he had a lot to teach her.


	8. Secrets (Part 1)

Boota walked down the hall, feet leading him down a familiar path while his eyes went over the report in his hand. They had just entered a new solar system the other day, which according to Lord Genome’s memories, had once been the site of a devastating battle in the old wars. In the thousand years since, the leftover carnage floating in space had formed a long asteroid belt, and they were now sifting through the space rock and debris in search of any new (technically old) technology.

Occasionally they came across a spacecraft that was still somewhat intact, which they collected for further studying. The report he read now were observations taken on one of those spacecraft, a Spiral machine of unknown origin. It looked to be some kind of weapon, and the more scientifically-minded members of the crew were trying to figure out how it worked. Of course, once Simon took a look at it, his first thought would probably be to just stick his Core Drill inside and see if anything happens.

Boota looked up from the report just as he nearly bumped into someone in the hall. He mumbled an apology, then turned toward the captain’s quarters.

The first thing he saw when the door opened was the Anti-Spiral Messenger’s long curly hair. She was sitting on the desk, her back turned to the door as she leaned in toward Simon, who was in his chair talking to her.

Boota had to suppress a territorial oink that suddenly rose up from some remaining animalistic part of his brain. It was stupid. Just because he used to sit in that _exact same spot_ when he was a pigmole. It was a good thing she wasn’t small enough to sit on Simon’s shoulder, or he might have truly lost it.

Just then, he heard voices in conversation behind him. Two crewmembers were walking down the hall right at that moment, passing by the room. Boota quickly entered and slammed his hand on the door panel so it would close.

Simon stopped talking and finally tore his eyes from the Messenger to look his way. “What’s up?” The Messenger also turned her head to glance back.

Boota sighed. They had no idea just how close they had come to being found out. It was partly his fault as well for being absent-minded and not checking to make sure the hall was empty first, but it was difficult to become accustomed to being so sneaky inside their own ship.

He hadn’t failed to notice that the Messenger had been spending more time here lately. In fact, he couldn’t recall a time in the past few days that she _wasn’t_ here when Simon was, looking increasingly at home in the captain’s quarters each time he saw her. And she had ceased to appear during battles completely.

He also hadn’t failed to notice the visible changes in their attitudes. The Messenger now sported a variety of different expressions, making her seem almost human. And Simon hadn’t been this relaxed in another person’s company in years. At times, he even looked _happy_.

And though Boota felt reluctant to shake his friend out of a rare good mood, the euphoria was blinding him to certain things, and Boota considered it his duty to watch out for such problems.

He walked over, dropping the report on the desk, and cleared his throat. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Yeah?”

“Perhaps you two should make an effort to be more…discrete.”

“Discrete?”

“Yes. Really, it’s a wonder you haven’t been discovered already.”

“Then what do you suggest? Hiding her under the desk?” Simon said jokingly.

“Do you really plan on having her stay here all the time?”

“Where else? It’s accessible. You’re the only other person who ever comes in here without my permission.”

“Yes, but many people pass by this room. They could see or hear things. How about finding someplace else to meet in?”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “Such as…?”

“Your sleeping quarters, for example. No one goes in there.” Simon actually did have a separate room with his own bed, but it was hardly ever used, as he preferred sleeping in his chair in the captain’s quarters. Boota was aware of him only using it in his past excursions with Yoko.

“You worry about noise and then you suggest that?”

“Ah. Point taken.”

The two of them thought hard. The Messenger looked slightly confused.

“How about my room—“

“No.”

“I wouldn’t lay a hand on her, I swear—“

“NO.” Simon was adamant. Honestly, there was nothing to worry about. Boota had long since learned to keep his hands to himself (oh, how he longed for the days when he didn’t _need_ hands).

The Messenger was now giving them both suspicious looks. “What are you two talking about…?”

Boota coughed and looked away. “Nothing.”

Simon leaned back, hands behind his head. “Well, it’s a big enough ship. It wouldn’t be _too_ difficult to find a place. But it’d be such a bother…”

“Do you plan on continuing to see each other like this for some time?” Boota asked.

Simon and the Messenger blinked at the question. They looked at each other. Then, smiling, they both answered with a simultaneous “Yes.”

Well, at least they were being honest with their feelings now.

“Then perhaps it’s by time you let the rest of the crew know about your relationship? Wouldn’t that make things easier?”

There was a tangible change in atmosphere after the question. Silence settled in the room as he waited for an answer.

The smile had faded from Simon’s face. He sat up straight and said to the Messenger, “Nia. Could you leave us alone for a few minutes?”

“Simon?” The Messenger looked surprised and— fearful?

“Just a few minutes. There’s something I want to discuss with him.” He reached up and brushed his hand against her hair reassuringly.

A hint of sadness came into the Messenger’s eyes, but she nodded. Seconds later, she was gone.

“That wasn’t entirely necessary.” Boota felt unsettled by the look on the Messenger’s face. Just moments ago he had been exasperated by her constant presence, but somehow, telling the Messenger to leave seemed akin to throwing her out into the rain.

“No, I’m afraid it is.” Simon didn’t look happy about it either. He folded his hands in front of him with a frown, then admitted, “I took her to see Lord Genome.”

Boota’s mouth dropped open a little. So he’d already let her in that close…

“I had to do it,” said Simon seriously, and that was all the explanation needed between them.

“…Do you consider her trustworthy?”

“Yeah.”

“Then what is there to worry about?”

“Whether I trust her or not isn’t the problem, unfortunately. Any information she gets is transmitted to the Anti-Spirals unwillingly. They might not know of it now, but we need to assume that they will.”

“And that is why you sent her away? So they wouldn’t know what we are discussing?”

“Right. And that’s why I can’t let the rest of the crew know about her.”

Boota said nothing.

Simon wore a bitter smile. “I can’t exactly expect them to just accept the fact that I willingly let the enemy into our biggest secret, can I?”

And here lay the biggest problem, Boota knew. Both Simon and the crew held a certain lack of trust towards the other. They trusted each other as far as getting the job done, but any kind of true friendship died out years before. Yoko had been the last link. And now Simon alienated her as well.

“But once the Anti-Spirals find out about Lord Genome, the fact that they know may become apparent to the rest of the crew. What do you plan to say to them then?”

“I’ll be honest. I have no fucking idea.”

This didn’t come as too much of a surprise.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I really have. But this whole thing…wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s a lot easier when I’m just blowing things up, you know?” Simon laughed a little, shaking his head at the irony. “I think that this time…I might really be in over my head.”

Coming from him, that was as good as a plead for help.

“I’ll continue keeping an eye out on the crew. But I think you should tell them. Things will only get worse the longer you keep it secret.”

Simon looked grim. “I have too many secrets.”

 

* * *

  

Yoko peered into the common room. She spotted only two people lounging on the sofas. The place was uncommonly empty. And of course, this time it was not due to a monthly report playing. Shaking her head, she turned to leave.

The ship felt strangely scarce. The people on their shifts were still working, but of those she knew who were on their off hours, they were turning up hard to find. In fact, she had just spent the past hour looking for the other Gunmen pilots, and only found Zorthy, who was smoking in the galley by himself. When she asked where the other guys were, he told her that he had no idea. That was a bit odd.

So for now, she wandered aimlessly down the halls, hoping to stretch her legs out of a lack of anything else to do. Maybe she could go and help Leite check out those Spiral artifacts they had scrounged up, though she hardly had the expertise to offer any real assistance.

Fortunately, this time luck was in her favor, as she finally spotted Kittan rounding a corner up ahead.

“Kittan! There you are!” she called.

The man froze. And so did a band of young Gulaparl pilots who had been following behind him.

“H…hey, Yoko!” Kittan called back nervously.

Oh, no, that wasn’t suspicious at all.

Yoko walked up to him. “Where are you going? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“You…you have, huh?” A bead of sweat trailed down his temple. “We were just, uh…” He motioned to the Gulaparl pilots, who were either staring at her wide-eyed or shuffling their feet guiltily. “I was gonna show them my piloting skills on the simulator! You know, how to fight like a man!”

“Uh-huh. Right. Kittan, you suck at lying. What’s going on?” she deadpanned.

Kittan’s face fell. One of the Gulaparl pilots smacked himself on the forehead. Another one whispered, “Great. Now what?”

Yoko put her hand on her hip, waiting for an answer.

Sighing, Kittan ran his hand through his hair in frustration, then looked at her again. The seriousness of his expression caught her by surprise. “Guess there’s no point hidin’ it now. Come on, I’ll show you.”

He continued on his way with the Gulaparl pilots, who cast anxious looks toward Yoko as she followed along. They traveled down the decks of the ship to what she recognized as the more vacant levels.

It was there that they ran across Kidd and Iraak, coming down the opposite end of the hall trailing a group of crew members behind them. Kidd immediately pointed a finger at Yoko. “The hell is she doing here?!”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down, will ya?!” Kittan hissed.

“This isn’t according to the plan, man!”

“The plan changed. She caught us.”

“You couldn’t have just told her we were watching porn? She woulda believed that!”

“Shut up! I think she has a right to know, okay?!”

“Just cuz you’ve got the hots for her doesn’t mean—“

Yoko cleared her throat loudly. “Okay, so what is this ‘plan’ and why am I not in it?”

“We can tell you, but it’d be best if we wait until we reach our destination,” said Iraak delicately. “Wouldn’t want any unwelcome ears to overhear, after all. I’m sure a lady such as yourself would understand.” He winked. Always the charmer.

They finally arrived at the cargo bay area, and walked along down the corridor until they stopped in front of the door for Cargo Bay 18B. Kittan knocked three times. There was a pause, and then the door was opened from the inside.

Gimmy was there to greet them, ushering them in quickly. “Did anyone catch you?” he asked.

“Only Yoko,” Kidd grumbled.

“Oh,” said Gimmy, noticing her presence.

Yoko sighed. “ _Now_ can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Ask Kittan and Gimmy, they’re the ones who came up with it.”

Kittan waved his hands. “Gimmy was the one who had the idea. I just helped organize the thing.”

“Look guys, I don’t care who the idea belongs to, I just want to know what you’re all planning on doing here.”

Gimmy turned to her. “We’re going to have a discussion.”

“A discussion?”

He explained. “Well, you know with how things have been lately, everyone’s nervous and confused. And all the explanations we’ve been given have been less than satisfying. But rather than just letting baseless rumors float around, I thought it would be more productive if we got together and actually talked about it. This way we could gather information to figure out what’s really going on, and we’ll be organized in case we ever need to take action.”

“Take action? Like a mutiny?”

A faint murmur spread through the room. The guys looked uncomfortable. It appeared this was an idea that had crossed everyone’s minds at one point, but no one had dared bring it up yet.

“W-we haven’t decided on anything drastic. We’re just going to talk,” Gimmy said nervously.

Yoko nodded. “Well, I agree that we need something like this. But why didn’t you include me in on it?”

“We wanted to. You could really give us some helpful insight. But we were afraid that the rest of the crew wouldn’t trust you as much as we do.”

“Why? Because I was involved with Simon? That was a long time ago.”

He shrugged. “No offense. Really. But we wanted to gather a lot of people, and we can’t do that if they’re too afraid of being caught. It was just a precaution. We would have brought you into it eventually.”

“Well, if you say so.”

“Anyway, this time we’ve only approached people that we _know_ are unhappy about the situation. We’ll keep spreading the word little by little through people we trust…”

As Gimmy went on about the regularity of meetings and how they’d planned them to avoid suspicion, it struck Yoko how, whether intentionally or not, Gimmy was beginning to emulate Rossiu in some ways. And how, for better or worse, it was possible that they needed that sort of figure now in these times.

During the next twenty minutes, several more people arrived led by Makken. Zorthy was assigned for look-out duty in the upper decks this time, in case Taboo came looking for any of them. Gimmy and the Gunmen pilots sat on crates while everyone else seated themselves on the floor. Altogether, the group gathered in the cargo bay numbered around fifty people.

“Well, I guess we can start now,” Gimmy said, sounding a bit hesitant. “Let’s begin with the split with the colony, which is probably what’s on everyone’s minds the most. What have we heard about the reasons for it?”

A female Gulaparl pilot raised her hand. “The official word is that we are separating for the protection of the colony.”

“That’s what President Rossiu said in his announcement,” someone else piped up.

“That makes sense, doesn’t it? We’re putting the colony at risk every time we stop by.”

“He was so vague about it, though…”

“Didn’t he say something about differing opinions too? What’s up with that?”

Yoko spoke up. “Leeron, the Science Bureau Chief, attended a meeting they had, and from what he said when I talked to him, it sounded like they had a disagreement over something.”

“What kind of disagreement?” someone asked.

“I don’t know,” Yoko said, shaking her head. “He only said that we would find out eventually.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“If we’re talking about the Captain, I bet he has some crazy plan to beat the Anti-Spirals, and the President didn’t want to go through with it.”

“Maybe he thought it would bring danger to the colony?”

“That makes sense…”

“I saw Rossiu on the day we left,” Kittan added. “He looked really stressed out. I mean, more than usual. My sis Kinon said he didn’t get any sleep the other night.”

“How does _she_ know how much he slept?”

“Sh-shut up! It’s not anything like that!” Kittan shouted, trailing off with, “I’ll kill that bastard if I ever see him again…”

“My sister Darry works with Viral,” Gimmy said. “I asked her what she knew about it. She said that Viral was in an aggravated mood after the meeting…”

“So whatever it was, he didn’t like it too?”

“What about the Captain himself? Did he say anything?”

Several expectant eyes trained themselves on Yoko. She couldn’t help but notice some skeptical looks among them.

Yoko frowned. “I haven’t seen him in a while. I wouldn’t know.”

After exhausting all their information and dismissing some silly rumors, the discussion then turned to speculation on what the Captain might be planning for them. In the end, they still didn’t have any concrete details, but it was plain to see from the looks on everyone’s faces that the talk helped ease some fears.

Before leaving, they sent a young crewman to check if the coast was clear out in the corridor. But the door was open only briefly before he closed it again and backed away in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” Gimmy asked.

The crewman was wide-eyed. “Th-the Captain is out there!”

There was a hush in the room, quickly followed by everyone seemingly talking all at once.

Kittan, Kidd, and Iraak went around the room, trying to hush people up. “Everyone, calm down!”

“Shut up or he’ll hear us!”

Gimmy spoke to the crewman. “Did he see you?”

“I-I don’t think so! He was down by Cargo Bay 15…”

“What’s he doing?”

“Just…looking around, it seemed like.”

Someone shouted. “She brought him here! She told him where we were meeting!”

With a shock, Yoko realized that this was referring to her. “Wha— I didn’t!”

“Why else would he be here?!”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“She didn’t! I can vouch for her!” Kittan yelled back, before Iraak silenced him with hands over his mouth.

“Everyone, please be quiet. We won’t get anywhere by putting the blame on people,” Gimmy said exasperatedly. “Yoko, do you think you can make the Captain go away?”

There was a murmur of dissent.

Yoko was getting sick of this already. “What do you mean? Why me?”

“You know him better than the rest of us. Talk to him. Maybe you can convince him to leave.”

She crossed her arms. “If I do, and it works, people better stop being so suspicious of me.”

“I can’t guarantee that, unfortunately.” Gimmy looked apologetic.

“I know.” Yoko sighed.

She stepped out into the corridor. Simon was now standing in front of Cargo Bay 17A, staring at the door with a thoughtful expression. He looked mildly startled when he saw her there.

“Yoko…what are you doing here?”

She tried her best to sound casual. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“Can’t a captain walk around his own ship?”

“In the _cargo bay_ , Simon?”

“I needed a change of scenery, all right?” He seemed oddly defensive. “What about you?”

“I came to get bullets. For my rifle.”

“What do you need bullets for?”

“Practicing, what else? I can’t let my skills weaken up. You’d never know when this thing could become useful again.” She hefted her shoulder where she carried her rifle.

“Hm.” He looked away.

He believed her. Whatever his reason for being here, it did not seem to have to do with the secret meeting…

Simon turned to walk away.

Before she could think, she found herself calling out. “Simon.”

“What?”

This might be her last chance. Some of the guys were already considering mutiny as a possibility. Things could only get worse at this rate. But maybe, if she could get through to him at last… “You aren’t…hiding something, are you?”

He paused. “…Like what?”

“Like anything.”

“…” He stood there with his back turned on her, saying nothing.

After a minute of silence, Yoko lost her patience. What was she thinking? She should have known better than to expect him to change. “But then I suppose you wouldn’t tell _me_ , would you?” she said with a cynical laugh.

“I hide things for a reason,” Simon snapped. “You should know.” He stormed off.

 

* * *

  

“Well, the cargo bay is no good,” Simon announced as he entered the room.

Nia looked up from where she was sitting behind the desk. “Someone was there again?”

“Yeah.” He flipped over a map on the desk and crossed out the cargo deck with a pen.

Nia came to sit on the edge of the desk beside him, and almost leaned over to look, but caught herself just in time. Giving the Anti-Spirals a clear view of the map of the ship would be disastrous. So instead she busied herself by studying Simon’s face. His eyes moved back and forth as he scanned the map, his lips pursed.

“I checked the main computer room, but that’s no good either.” He crossed off another section of the map. “It’s not safe anymore since we started collecting…uh. Well, we’ve been digging up more of Lord Genome’s memories lately.” Simon gave her a quick glance. “Sorry.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

Since she had begun staying here, they had been taking care not to let slip any more vital information to the Anti-Spirals. All the papers on Simon’s desk were turned over, and though he talked to her often about his past, he was careful with his words when it came to matters dealing with the ship and crew. In turn, Nia tried to reign in her curiosity and kept her eyes diverted while he worked. It was a small price to pay considering the risks he had taken for her already.

He was a lot busier than she expected, going in and out of the room frequently and only staying put at the end of the day. While he was away, Nia had nothing to do. In this aspect, it wasn’t much different from when she was working for the Anti-Spirals, and she had to agree with the aide that it would be easier if she was introduced to the crew. Maybe she could have more freedom that way.

But when she expressed this to Simon earlier, he’d looked perturbed and replied, “It could make things easier. Or it could make things worse.”

Nia did not know any of the other humans well enough to guess how right that assumption would be. While Simon talked about his Bro in great detail, he never spoke much about anyone else. Maybe there was a reason for that. So she decided to simply trust in him now. He was doing what he could. And though he tried not to show it, she could see that balancing his responsibilities as captain with looking after her was making him stressed.

“I’m causing you trouble, aren’t I?” she said.

Simon stopped what he was doing and met her eyes with an easy smile. “You don’t want to go back, right? If I say you can stay, you can stay.”

She _did_ want to stay. Despite everything, the past few days had been the happiest she could remember being. And she didn’t know how much time she had left. She wanted to spend as much of it with him as she could.

“Don’t worry about it.” He leaned over and kissed her.

By now Nia was making some realizations about kissing. At first she had found it strange, not understanding what purpose could be achieved by the mingling of lips and tongue. But as she got used to it, she found enjoyment in it, and a sort of excitement characterized by a dizzy mind and rapidly beating heart. It was an addicting feeling, and she was glad to experience it with him.

She wasn’t sure how many minutes had passed when a buzzer sounded. “Captain? Are you there?” called a voice.

Simon made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat and parted from her. “Yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong?” he called back.

“We’ve been picking up a large unknown signal for the past hour now. At first we thought it was just a very large asteroid, but the monitor just showed that it’s moving _toward_ us.”

Simon shared a glance with Nia, then he said to the voice, “Keep an eye on it. I’m coming up soon.”

“Yes, sir.” The communication ended.

Simon straightened up. “Another trap?”

Nia shook her head. “I don’t think it has anything to do with the Anti-Spirals.” Though they weren’t transmitting plans to her anymore, she was pretty sure she could still detect if their presence was nearby.

“Hmm. Better go check it out.” He strode to the door.

Nia got down from the desk, getting ready to hide again. But Simon paused in front of the door, as if he was forgetting something, then turned back. He walked right up to her, and before she could ask what he was doing, he had her chin in his hand and his lips upon hers.

He let her go a moment later.

“I’ll be right back,” he grinned.

“…Okay,” she said breathlessly.

He left.

Nia leaned back against the desk, taking a minute to calm down. Now she was beginning to understand that there were also different kinds of kisses, with different uses. There were slow and languid ones, or kisses like the one he gave her just now that took her breath away. It was more complicated than such a simple act had the right to be, but she didn’t mind.

She closed her eyes and smiled, too preoccupied with reliving the moment to take notice of the tingling sensation in her feet.

Just when she thought she could stand up again, Nia looked down. Her heart clenched in shock.

Her body was dissolving into fragments of light. Her legs were almost completely gone already.

She shook her head, looking at her hands as her fingers began to disappear.

No…not now…not already…

And as the view of the room faded before her eyes, she heard a voice in her head.

_The time that was left to you has now run out._


	9. Secrets (Part 2)

Boota made it to the bridge shortly after the crew was ordered to take battle positions. It was unusual considering there was no sign of them being attacked yet, and the confusion was reflected in the whispers that he heard as he walked down the halls.

The object loomed immensely against the backdrop of space, making the asteroids scattered around it look like pebbles. The operators announced the distance between it and them— it was still very far away. Looking that large at such a distance meant that its size would be quite considerable up close. The size of a small planet perhaps— no, a bit smaller. It was probably almost the same size as the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren.

The operators worked to zoom in on the object, and the resulting visual appeared on the main monitor. There were gasps. It bore an uncanny resemblance to some of the spacecraft they had been scrounging from the asteroid belt, with long pointy edges and spiral markings, though from the blinking lights it was clear that this one was still in use.

“A battleship,” Simon said.

“Anti-Spiral?”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“What do you want to do?” Boota asked.

“Wait and see what they have to say. Obviously they know we’re here. They might even have come to seek us out.”

Simon stood with his arms crossed. Though he was calm in demeanor, the light in his eyes pulsed in anxious excitement.

Boota himself hadn’t been told why exactly they had split with the colony. Though in this case it was not because Simon meant to keep it secret from him, but Boota never thought to ask. He could already guess from Simon’s behavior, and his own instincts. It was only natural that at the rate they were going, they would continue to extend further outward into the universe. And naturally that meant they would bump into things along the way.

The rest of the crew had caught on by now. A nervous tension ran through the members on the bridge. They had never encountered another Spiral race on such a scale before, and no doubt they were hoping they’d be able to avoid a fight. To keep them busy, Boota ordered the operators to search through Lord Genome’s memories to hopefully identify what race the ship belonged to.

But before they could get a result, one of them announced, “Captain! We have an incoming message!”

“Play it.”

A warbling speech in an alien tongue echoed across the bridge. Simon blinked. “Can we get a translation of that?”

“We’re on it, sir!”

Apparently this was a race that Lord Genome was once familiar with, for it did not take long for the computer to identify and decipher the language.

“Former comrade of the stars Lord Genome, for what reason have you left your planet after this long millennium, rousing us all from slumber?”

They thought over the message briefly. The other Spiral race seemed to be under the impression that Lord Genome was the one leading them. Simon sent out a message of his own. “Lord Genome is dead. Who are you?”

They returned with another: “Dead, you say? We find that hard to believe. Our message-bearers tell that what we see before us now is his flagship. They tell that he acquired the wisdom to live as one that never grows old and that his power was near to that of the gods.”

“He was alive ten years ago, if that makes you happy. I’ll ask again— who are you?”

“We are the tribe of the planet Wuxglava, once mighty and proud in the days of old. We have kept our history of the days of great battle through our line of message-bearers of every generation. Our machines have grown with rust in the days of inactivity, but we rouse them again to face you. Now we ask, who are you if not Lord Genome? Are you his successor?”

“I’m Simon the Digger.” The answer was both hardly an explanation and all the explanation needed. “What do you want with us?”

A few minutes passed before the next message arrived. Everyone waited in anticipation as the computer translated it.

“…So, Simon the Digger as you say, it was you terrorizing the tribes of our once powerful alliance?”

“I wouldn’t call it terrorizing, but yeah. That was me.”

Though it was difficult to tell at first, Boota sensed a shift in their tone. They had sounded reverent when they thought they were speaking to Lord Genome, almost as if they were dealing with a temperamental god. But now…

“For what reason do you do this now? For a millennium we have all lain in shackles, we have been reduced to worms that crawl across the land. And now you try to extinguish our very existence. Has not the galaxy suffered enough by your tribe’s hands?”

They held nothing back. The full extent of their anger and resentment came through in their words.

“You’re blaming the wrong people. Maybe your ‘message-bearers’ forgot to mention this, but it was the Anti-Spirals who started everything. None of us was even alive back then.”

“We ourselves find it odd that as Lord Genome’s successor, you do not remember his own deeds. That, we did not forget.”

“I’m not his successor!” Simon said sharply.

The crew on the bridge murmured amongst themselves. “What are they talking about? Didn’t the Spiral King fight against the Anti-Spirals…?”

“Quiet!” Simon barked. They all fell silent again. He continued the message. “I don’t care how you remembered things. That was then. This is now. We’re out here because _they_ attacked _us_.”

“Does that excuse your own assault upon the innocent?”

“I’m not making excuses. I’m just stating the facts.”

“You _are_ Lord Genome’s successor. You are no different from the Anti-Spirals. No, you are worse. You are the Anti-Spirals’ fear come true.”

Simon smirked. “So you believe that too, huh? Okay, fine. Maybe I _am_ trying to cause the Spiral Nemesis. What are you going to do about it? Don’t tell me you came here in a battleship just to talk.”

Oh dear. He was becoming careless with his words. Much of the crew looked aghast. In his eagerness to grapple with a new opponent, Simon seemed to have forgotten that he had an audience.

Boota gave him a nudge, thinking now would be a good time to remind him that while provoking the Anti-Spirals was one thing, provoking another Spiral race would be a bad idea.

…But it seemed he was too late.

“Since the days of our ancestors, we have refused to have our freedom denied for such a reason. But now you have shown us, you destroy indiscriminately, you gain power great as Lord Genome, you turn it against us once more. We will not take any more abuse. We, and the other tribes of our alliance, have vowed to put an end to your destructive actions, by any means necessary.”

“Then I guess that gives us reason enough to see you all as being on the same side as the Anti-Spirals, doesn’t it?” Simon’s smirk grew wider. “Convenient.”

The crew gaped at him.

“We oppose both you and the Anti-Spirals. For even if you do defeat them, we have no assurance that you will not rise as tyrant yourself. In that case, it is better we stop you before that can happen. For the good of the universe.”

Simon laughed. “Everyone seems to want to destroy others ‘for the good of the universe’; I feel like I’m the only one making sense anymore. And that’s saying something. By that logic, if you manage to defeat me, you could become the same thing. It never ends. Let’s just be honest with ourselves. Spiral Power will always win. Whether it’s you or me or someone else, the outcome will be the same.”

“We would rather see ourselves win than to trust the universe to someone like you.”

“Well said. But that doesn’t mean you can stop me.”

Now their outrage was unmistakable. “Are you not apologetic at all for what you have done to your Spiral brethren?”

“Why should I be?” Simon said offhandedly. “I’ve only done what I’m meant to do.”

And that sealed it. There was no turning back. So much for negotiations.

The Wuxglavans sent one final message: “We see you give us no choice. You do not apologize. Now we will teach you to respect the innocent dead.”

Something about those words finally seemed to strike a chord with Simon. A shadow fell over his face. “Teach me to respect the dead?” he asked quietly. His shoulders began to shake in a silent laughter that soon exploded as he threw his head back.

No one joined in. No one else found the situation funny. His laughter echoed alone into the silence of space.

Then just as suddenly as he began, Simon stopped laughing. He flicked his head back down, dark bangs falling over green eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Who are you to teach me about the dead?! You know nothing! I’ll teach _you_ to know your place!”

 

* * *

  

Yoko was barely able to take in everything that had transpired before they were sent into battle. She only heard brief snatches of conversation in the hangar as she jumped into her Gunmen— “Wait, why are we fighting? Aren’t they on our side?” “That don’t matter, we just gotta! We’re bein’ attacked!” –and then she was off into space.

The other ship was launching its fighters as well. They came in swarms, firing beams as they fell in range.

“Whoo! This outta be interesting!” Zorthy whooped, dodging a beam.

“Don’t let your guard down, you bozos!” Kittan warned. “We don’t know how they’ll fight!”

Kidd laughed. “But we’ve just gotta pummel them like we always do, right?”

“Kittan’s right, we can’t underestimate them!” said Gimmy. “Gulaparl Squadron, follow me! Take defensive positions!”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Yoko muttered to herself. In fact, everything about this situation felt wrong. But there was no time to dwell on it.

The Gunmen fired back against the enemy mecha as they clashed. Shapes and colors zipped past. Explosions rang in their ears. All their concentration was focused on aiming shots and dodging attacks, hiding behind asteroids, snuffing out the enemy that was…was…

“Hold on a minute!” exclaimed Kidd. “Wha…what the hell?!”

“They look just like us!” Iraak said.

He was right. The enemy mecha were just like Gunmen— jagged teeth, wild eyes, coming in an assortment of designs, none of them uniform. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but after years of facing only Mugann and fleets of Anti-Spirals, it felt like they were suddenly sent back to the days of fighting Beastmen. Only this enemy didn’t fight like either the Beastmen or the Anti-Spirals.

From the corner of her eye, Yoko saw two enemy mecha dive recklessly into a line of Gulaparl units. They were shot apart almost at once by the Gulaparls, rendering their sacrifice meaningless.

At the same time, Makken managed to corner one against an asteroid, hacking off its limbs and cannons. Completely unarmed, the enemy still came charging nevertheless.

Elsewhere, Zorthy and an enemy mecha danced around each other in circles, both firing blasts and missing, neither giving an inch or pulling back. Zorthy was laughing his head off. “These fuckers are crazy!”

While the Anti-Spirals had always been cold and calculating, this enemy was fierce and relentless. Their power was like that of a raging storm, a natural disaster, totally unpredictable.

Incredibly, the fighters of the Gurren Brigade were actually being pushed back by their assault. Soon Kittan ordered Kidd, Iraak, and Yoko to fall back and help the Gulaparls strengthen the defense while he, Zorthy, and Makken continued to lead the offense.

“Fuck, man! We can’t stand for this! They’re complete newbies compared to us!” Kidd growled.

“They’re throwing everything into it _because_ it’s their first battle. They can’t keep this up for long, right?” one of the Gulaparl pilots said worriedly.

“Pay attention!” Gimmy shouted. “Here they come again!” A new wave of mecha came diving toward them.

Holding the controls with a steady hand, Yoko fired at each enemy as she saw them, hitting each in a vital spot. The Gulaparls behind her cheered her on, then finished off the ones that made it past her.

Yoko took a brief moment to check how the offensive was going, when a sudden explosion right beside her threw her back. Quickly turning to see what had happened, her mouth dropped open.

The explosion was right where Iraak had been seconds before. As the mangled debris of what had been the Space Ainzer cleared, she saw a lone Gulaparl unit behind it, still with its handgun raised.

“You…you killed him!” said Kidd in shock. “YOU KILLED HIM!”

“I-I-I’m sorry, I thought he was the enemy—“ The Gulaparl was cut off by an enemy blast blowing it to pieces.

Screaming in rage, Kidd broke rank and took off.

“Kidd, wait!” Yoko shouted, but it was too late. No words could reach him now.

Then she heard Kittan calling from across the battlefield. “What happened?!”

“Iraak’s been killed! Kidd’s gone AWOL!” Yoko answered between firing blasts as another enemy wave reached them. “Do you see him anywhere?!”

“I’ll keep an eye out!” Kittan answered. A moment later, she heard him again. “I see him! He’s right over— the hell, why is he firing at me— never mind, that’s not him! Goddammit!”

The enemy seemed to be everywhere now. Yoko could barely make out Kittan, Zorthy, and Makken fighting among them. Kidd was still nowhere to be seen.

A cold sweat of panic now joined Yoko’s rushing adrenaline. It was something she only felt at the worst moments in battle, when something was going horribly wrong. She’d felt it last during the first fights against the Anti-Spirals, when they had lost Jorgun and Balinbow. Now Iraak was gone too, and the battle was only starting to heat up.

She grit her teeth, choking back the fear. She couldn’t lose her head now.

“Yoko!” Kittan called again. “Get back over here, we could use your help!”

“Got it! Hey, Gimmy! I’m going to help out the offense again! Could you guys hold out while I’m gone?”

“We’ll manage!” Gimmy answered distractedly.

Heading back into the middle of the battlefield, Yoko found Makken being surrounded by the enemy and lent him a hand in scattering their numbers. They regrouped with Kittan and Zorthy shortly after on a large asteroid, shooting at anything that came their way.

“How’s it going?” Yoko asked.

“Not good!” Kittan said. We’ve been taking them out all right, but they just keep coming!”

“They’ve outnumbered us from the start!” Makken added.

After steadily taking casualties over three years, and losing some fighters who decided to stay on the colony, the Gurren Brigade was at a severe disadvantage compared to the Wuxglavans, who were entering fresh into battle after a thousand years. It was hard to see how they could possibly win at this point. But…

“We’ve gone up against worse odds than this before!” Yoko reminded them.

The guys grinned at her from their respective screens. “Right! Let’s go!”

They left the asteroid and resumed fighting, with Yoko providing backup.

“No way in hell are we gonna be beaten by you lot!” Kittan growled. “Not after all we’ve been through!”

Yoko watched his back as he went all out, keeping an eye on the others as well. She spotted a mecha speeding up to Zorthy, trying to catch him by surprise. “Zorthy! Behind you!” she warned.

Zorthy turned and fired at it just in time. But the enemy swerved, firing back, and Zorthy dodged its attack as well. “Heh! You again!” he sneered. “I’ll get ya this time!” They circled around again, before both diving at each other, heading for a straight collision.

In his last moments, Yoko heard Zorthy laughing. “You ain’t got the nerve! You ain’t got the—“

The two machines crashed, creating a massive explosion. Neither survived.

“Zorthy!”

“Goddammit…GODDAMMIT!”

This time Kittan snapped. He destroyed the mecha around him and then went flying towards the Wuxglavan ship, disappearing behind enemy lines.

“Kittan! What are you doing?!” Yoko tried moving into a position where she could find him again, but the enemy blocked her. As she fought them off, she kept calling. “Kittan! Kittan! Can you hear me?!”

She heard him cursing, his voice muffled over the communicator. He seemed to be under heavy attack.

“Get out of there! You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Easy…for you…to say! Shit!” His screen flickered and became full of static.

“Kittan!!” The panic crept back again. This felt all too familiar.

“Yoko!” called Makken. He slashed through the mecha beside her. “I will deal with these! You find a way for Kittan to escape!”

Yoko nodded. “Got it!” She escaped the enemy horde and surveyed the battlefield. Finally she saw Kittan, completely surrounded, still fighting back despite the Space King Kittan being heavily damaged by now.

“Kittan! It’s Yoko!” she shouted. “If you can get past the green mecha above you, there’s a narrow path through their lines! I’ll keep it clear for you!”

“Tha…nks!” he called back through the static.

“No, wait! Don’t leave just yet!”

“Wh…at?! Do y…want me t…get out or not?!”

“I have a plan! Listen, unload your live rounds as you go! All of them!”

“….”

She heard no answer, but as she watched, Kittan did exactly as she suggested, blasting a hole through the green mecha and dumping the live rounds from his Space King Kittan as he made his way. She shot at everything that fell in his path until he came to join her at last.

“Lost my shield and my left leg!” He sounded out of breath, the static clearing up. “Only got the Space Kittan Beam now! And, well, I can still fly.”

“Good! Help me out!” Yoko began firing at the live rounds he’d left behind. With each hit, they blew up, causing a chain reaction of explosions through the enemy lines.

Kittan joined in. The planted bombs were causing havoc among the enemy now. Some tried to stop them from firing, but Makken fended them off. Then blasts came another direction. Gimmy had brought the Gulaparl Squadron, and they all began shooting together.

The tides were turning. But the battle wasn’t over yet.

Suddenly, there was a great flash of light. Turning, they saw the Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren glowing green as it started changing form.

Of course. Yoko realized now that the reason the ship hadn’t fired anything itself yet was because Simon had been preparing for it to transform all this time. They were up against a new enemy; he couldn’t resist taking them on himself.

But before they could react, another flash of light blindsided them. This time it came from the Wuxglavan ship. In horror, they watched as it too began changing into humanoid form.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” Kittan exclaimed hoarsely.

Gimmy frantically shouted orders. “Everyone! Take cover! Get out of the way or we’ll be caught between them!”

They scrambled to leave the battlefield, flying as fast as they could go. The enemy fighters did likewise. They’d all ceased fighting; now they were united in fleeing for their lives.

They just managed to hide behind an asteroid when they heard a thunderous clash. The Super Galaxy Gurren-Lagann had finished transforming, and was now trading blows with the Wuxglavans’ transformed ship. With each blow, a shockwave of Spiral energy assaulted them.

Kittan was still yelling. “This is insane! This is fucking insane! They’ve fucking got one of their own!”

“Shut up, Kittan!” someone shouted. Yoko turned and saw that the Space Kidd Knuckle was with them behind the asteroid. Kidd had managed to survive as well.

She opened her mouth to call out to him, when a gigantic pair of jagged red sunglasses came slicing through the asteroid like butter, sending them all flying.

Head spinning, Yoko tried to get her bearings again as a familiar voice sounded its disappointment. “Damn! Missed!”

“Is everyone all right?!” Gimmy flew around, trying to get everyone back together again. “Gulaparl Squadron, on my command! Tornado Shield!”

In the absence of a large asteroid, the Gulaparls created a Spiral barrier for them to take cover in. It was flimsy compared to what they were defending against, but it was better than nothing.

“Who’s winning?! I can’t tell!”

“From the sound of it, I think it’s the Captain!”

Though they could not see much of the fight from their vantage point other than the chaotic clashing of giant metal limbs, it was clear that _someone_ was getting a sound beating. And from the way Simon kept laughing, it had to be the Wuxglavans. This did not come as a surprise. No matter how spirited and fierce the enemy, this was still their first battle, while Simon had years of experience in this type of warfare.

“Don’t sound so tough now, do you?!” he taunted. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to _teach_ me something!”

A massive hand reached up and grasped an asteroid nearby, then disappeared. A great crashing sound followed.

“Seriously? That’s all you can think of? Throwing rocks?!” Another crash. “And here I thought you might even pose a challenge!”

There was a metallic grinding noise. Something flew past at an incredible speed. It was the hand they saw earlier. It had been torn off. It was followed by a leg and part of a face.

“I’ll applaud you for having enough Spiral Power to make it this far. But next time you’ll have to come at us two at a time to even stand a chance!”

Yoko could hardly believe her ears. Next time? Two at a time? What was he saying?! They’d already lost so many people…

“You might outnumber us, but we’ll keep learning! We’ll grow stronger! And no one will be able to stop us, not you or the Anti-Spirals!”

Why were they even in this situation? This was too much, just too much...

Trapped here, at the complete mercy of his power, Yoko finally realized just how far Simon was trying to take them. It wasn’t just a fight against the Anti-Spirals anymore. It was a fight with the universe.

Then they heard the whirring of an enormous drill.

 

* * *

  

On the Anti-Spiral home world, Nia stared blankly at the ground. She knew now that she hated this place. The same dry, lifeless dirt. The same cold breeze.

 _You aren’t struggling this time_ , observed the Anti-Spirals, analyzing her body once again.

“I’m saving my strength.”

_A useless effort._

Yes, she knew it was useless. But when the time came, if she could hang on for just a few seconds longer, maybe…

A jolt of excitement ran through the hive mind. They had found the memories of her meeting with Lord Genome.

“I’m sorry, Father…” she whispered, letting them take it without resistance.

_So this is why they have managed to come this far. Yes, it all makes sense now…_

The new information made them feel smug, as if they had won the war already.

“No,” she said. “He _let_ you see it. He still won’t be beaten easily.”

_Turned a complete traitor now have you, Irregular?_

“Yes…I have.” She looked up, glaring at them. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve turned my back on the universe.”

_It means the same thing._

“You’re wrong!” she protested. “If you only gave me some more time—”

They tightened their hold over her mind, making her gasp.

_It must seem such a waste to consider how your sacrifice will have been for nothing. You made no difference but for us to gain an advantage. Your efforts will go unrecognized._

“That’s not true…”

_Not even the one who claims to care for you knows of your peril. See with your own eyes how he has lost himself to his Spiral Power._

They played a visual in front of her, something that was occurring right at that very minute. She saw two humanoid figures, Spiral machines, locked in battle. One of them— she recognized it as belonging to the humans— had released the drills from its shoulders, fusing them into one giant Giga Drill, which it used to attack its foe.

“Simon…” She tried calling to him. “Simon!!”

_It’s no use. He cannot hear you._

“You aren’t going to stop them?”

_For now, we will let them do our work for us._

The drill annihilated its target, resulting in a massive explosion. The vision ended.

Nia felt a sinking feeling overwhelm her. They were right. Simon wasn’t going to come. He didn’t know where to find her, didn’t even know she was here. No one was going to save her.

She wasn’t able to stop him after all. She’ll have died for nothing.

The Anti-Spirals finished analyzing her body in silence. Once they had taken every bit of information they needed, then they began to erase her.

Nia’s body spasmed in pain. Her eyes flinched shut. She screamed. It was like fire was consuming her, agonizingly slow. She’d experienced death once before when she became an Anti-Spiral. This was the same, only now she would cease to exist completely.

Tears leaked from between her eyelids. Even after regaining her self-consciousness, after everything that had happened, it only came to this. Was it even worth it after all?

…Yes. Yes, it was. She had met Simon. She had learned the truth from her father. In the past few days, she had felt accepted, treasured, understood. That was far better than nothing.

If only she could have said goodbye. Simon was still expecting to see her again when he left. How would he feel when he realized she was gone? What would he think? What would he…he……

Nia’s eyes shot open as she came to a realization. “No! Stop!” she screamed. “Please, stop!”

They weren’t listening.

“You’re making a mistake!”

They only heard the feeble cries of a dying Messenger. They did not care what she had to say.

Time was running out. She had to use whatever strength she had left to hold on for as long as she could. She had to make them understand!

“What do you think he’ll do?” Nia gasped. “What do you think he’ll do when he finds out I’m dead?!”

And finally, they stopped. Now they listened.

Wasting no time, Nia went on. “That’s right, you don’t know! You can’t predict him. And that’s why he’s so dangerous.”

Yes! She would appeal to their sense of reason. She knew them. Maybe she could buy some more time.

“What did he do the last time I left him? He tried to destroy the universe! What might have happened if I didn’t go to him then? What might happen if I’m not around the next time?”

The Anti-Spirals stared. They knew she was right. They couldn’t deny the risk.

Seconds ticked by as they considered all the possibilities. Then suddenly, they released her.

Nia fell to the ground and lay there, too weak to push herself up.

_You will live only as long as he continues to live, they decided. The moment his life expires, we will dispose of you as planned. Until then, you will be removed from our control. You will no longer be privy to our commands._

Freedom? They were freeing her? No, not exactly. They were only cutting off her access to their information network. Her body and mind would still be tied to them. Essentially, they were throwing her away. But if that meant they would no longer bring her here and analyze her, it was good enough.

She managed to get to her feet, still shaky. Sparks of pain tore through her body, but she was alive. Still somehow alive.

Taking one last look at the bleak scenery around her, Nia visualized Simon’s room in her mind and teleported.

He was already there, scanning the room, looking concerned. She appeared behind him and took a wobbly step forward to catch his attention. “Simon…”

“Nia?” He whirled around, relief in his voice. “Where did you…” The relief died off as he noticed her condition.

Nia simply wrapped her arms around him in a hug, breathing in his scent. His skin was covered in sweat, but she didn’t care. She was just glad to be able to see him again.

“What happened? …Why are you shaking?!”

Finally she pulled back a little. “The Anti-Spirals, they…they took me back to their home world. They tried to erase me.”

“What?!?”

“But it’s okay!” She smiled up at him. “I convinced them! They gave me more time!”

“They _what?!_ ” He didn’t look very happy. Actually, he looked quite alarmed.

“Simon, it’s fine now.” She sighed, leaning into him. But apparently Simon wasn’t done yet.

“It’s not fine!!” he yelled.

Nia blinked. “It’s not?”

“You could have just been killed!”

“But I wasn’t…”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in trouble?! Is this what happened last time? Did they try to erase you then too?!”

Why was he yelling at her? Wasn’t he glad that she was okay? “…Even if I did tell you, you couldn’t have done anything.”

He pulled away. “You didn’t even give me a chance! You just gave up!”

“…I’m sorry.”

He didn’t seem to hear. He turned his back on her, mumbling darkly. “No, I shouldn’t be blaming this on you. It’s making excuses. It’s _my_ fault. I’m too damn weak. I wasn’t able to be there for you. I’m still not strong enough yet, I need to get stronger…”

He paced back and forth, turning all of his anger toward himself now.

She stood there, confused. “Simon, you’re not weak—“

“Yes, I am! I almost just lost you! I haven’t learned anything! Not a single thing!”

“This isn’t about strength—“

“I should have known! I should have known this would happen! What the hell was I thinking?! All because I was caught up in a stupid, _meaningless_ battle!”

He wasn’t listening to her anymore.

As Nia watched, the Core Drill around Simon’s neck began to glow. But the light was not steady. It pulsed erratically, faster and faster as he continued ranting.

The situation was getting dangerous. She could feel it. His Spiral Power was becoming unstable.

“Simon, calm down!” she pleaded uselessly.

Why was he acting this way? Because she nearly died? Did that mean he could lose control even if she didn’t die? But then…

Nia gulped. She knew from the beginning that getting emotionally involved with him would come with risks. But if he reacted like this at just the thought of her being in danger, then it was no longer just a matter of stopping him or not…but whether she would be able to do so before she made things worse.

She had to come up with something. Now. But what could she say? He wouldn’t listen to reason. It was only noise to him now. She had to make him stop. But in a way completely different from how she stopped the Anti-Spirals…

Suddenly it came to her, a spark of inspiration, and her body was moving on its own before she could fully process it. She stepped into his path— he nearly bowled her over, but she stood fast and grabbed the Core Drill, wrapping the chain around her hand and tugging him down to meet her lips.

He froze. Nia could feel his body tense, his muscles struggling to somehow release all the pent-up power and emotion, but she refused to let go, so he held himself back.

At last he found something to do with his hands, grasping her shoulders in a grip tight enough to hurt. He returned the kiss, but it was hard and rough, hardly what one would call a ‘sign of affection.’

The pulsing of the Core Drill increased in speed, matching the rhythm of a racing heartbeat. For a moment she was almost afraid that it would explode. But then, gradually, it became slower, until finally the light dimmed and completely died down.

He let her go then, and they drew apart, both breathing heavily, warm air intermingling in the space between their mouths. Nia released the chain, wincing at the painful grooves it and the drill had carved into her hand. Her lips and shoulders ached, and she wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, but it seemed to have worked.

Simon looked down at her with surprise in his eyes. “Where…did you learn that?” he asked.

“I didn’t,” she said. “…It was instinct.”

He gave a short, incredulous laugh, then drew her in close again, his grip on her body still tight, but now more gentle. He kissed her ear. Relieved, Nia realized he was finally telling her that he was glad she was safe.

She tried to get her thoughts in order as Simon began running his hands up and down the sides of her body. It took an effort to concentrate, but this was important. She went through the things he had said in her mind to figure out what went wrong.

He was upset that she didn’t tell him anything. Why didn’t she tell him? Because she didn’t believe that he could save her. He said she didn’t give him a chance, that she gave up…

…He was right. She hadn’t thought of trying. Did that mean she was the one at fault?

Nia thought over the things he had told her recently, about his Bro; how they had believed in each other and that was what made them strong. Maybe that was what he needed. Simon had no one to believe in him now, and so he thought he was weak. Maybe that was the key.

Yes, that made sense. If they didn’t believe in each other, how were they going to accomplish anything? What was the point of making promises?

He wasn’t going to change. Not easily. And she knew she shouldn’t expect him to.

But they would have to start somewhere. She should start by changing herself. She would believe in him. She would give him a chance. As many chances as he needed. No more thoughts of whether things were possible or not. That was the Anti-Spirals’ way of thinking. Instead she would flush all her doubts away, put trust in the feelings that he had for her and nothing else. Because after all, he’d already shown he was willing to end the universe for her. With that amount of willpower, anything was possible.

Making up her mind, Nia took Simon’s hands, grabbing his attention. She looked up at him seriously. “Simon. I’m going to believe in you now,” she announced.

He looked confused at first. “Oh. Uh. Thanks,” he said.

“And if there is anything you want to ask me, I will answer you.”

He thought for a bit. “You said they gave you more time. How much time?”

“As long as you stay alive.”

“Well, I don’t plan on dying soon.”

She looked him straight in the eyes. “But they are planning something against you. I don’t know what it is, but…I think it has to do with everything they have been learning from me.”

“So I’ll just destroy them before they can put whatever plan they have into action. Then you’ll be okay, right?”

Her mouth hung open for a couple of seconds. “…Not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can't save me by simply fighting. If you destroy the Anti-Spirals…” She paused, worried how he would react. “…I won’t exist anymore.”

He stared at her. “Explain.”

“My body and mind are connected to their existence. Destroying them destroys me.”

He continued staring for a moment longer, eyes widening as what she said sunk in, then he began cursing fiercely under his breath. “What the hell? Then— then what am I supposed to do?!”

Nia sighed. “I can’t tell you. That’s up to you to decide.” Gently, she cradled his face in her hands. “But you will figure it out.”

He looked taken aback by her statement.

"The Anti-Spirals believe that destruction is all you are good for. Will you prove them wrong?" She knew it was asking a lot from a man at war with the universe, but if she believed…

He seemed to be at a complete loss for words. “What? But…I…”

Then she saw it. The doubt and conflict in his eyes. For all of his bravado, Simon didn't even believe in himself.

No matter. She would just do his part in believing as well.

"Will you?" she asked again.

His brows creased, he closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Then he looked back down at her, an ironic smile growing on his lips. “What kind of man would I be if I were to back down on a promise?”

She smiled. It was far from the usual confident reply, but it was sincere. It was a start.

 

* * *

  

The hangar was still and somber when the pilots returned. People got down from their mecha and looked around, checking to see how many of them had made it back, how many were now gone. They’d all gotten tired of mourning by now, but that didn’t mean they didn’t recognize the loss. Everywhere they looked, there were shadows— that person was laughing right there a day ago, an hour ago. Where was he now?

Yoko glanced to her side and saw Gimmy, wearily staring at a pile of cigarette butts at his feet. Beyond him was Kidd, face sullen and fists tightly clenched at his side.

They had won this battle, but there was nothing to be proud of. They walked away with neither heroic achievements nor the assurance that their loved ones were safe. Only the growing emptiness of a ship. And what stung most of all was the unavoidable truth…that it was a battle that could have been avoided.

When Gimmy looked up again, his eyes had changed. Without saying a word, he got the message across: impromptu meeting, same place, ASAP.

And while everyone was silent in the hangar, their ire came out in full force when they got to the meeting.

“This isn’t the fight we signed up for!”

“We’re out there risking our lives, and he’s just laughing it up!”

“It’s all just a game to him!”

“He obviously doesn’t care what we’re fighting for! Why the hell is he leading us?!”

“No wonder the President wants nothing to do with him…”

Gimmy spoke up. “We can’t have him speaking for us anymore, that much is clear. He needs to step down as leader.”

“But how do we make him do that?” Kittan said. “You know what happened the last time someone tried to chain him up…he bust himself out!”

“Yeah, he’s not going to step down just because we asked him to!”

“Can any of us here even take him on in a fight?”

The room became full of doubtful murmurs, until a single voice rose from among the hubbub. “Then we’ll just have to kill him.”

It was Kidd, speaking for the first time since they’d returned to the ship.

There was a hush. Then, hesitantly, people began to consider the idea.

“But without him, we might not be able to win against the Anti-Spirals…”

“Remember, this isn’t just about humanity anymore,” Yoko said grimly. “It involves the whole universe.”

“You’re saying we should just turn our backs on everyone?! We’re fighting to save humanity, not to get it wiped out!”

“My wife and children are on that colony! What about them?!”

“I care about the colony as much as you all do!” Yoko explained. “But if we don’t do something now, the fighting won’t stop even if we do defeat the Anti-Spirals!”

Nodding, Gimmy said, “Yoko’s right, it’s a chance we’ll have to take.”

More supporters began to emerge.

“Yeah, we can’t stay dependent on one man forever. If we can’t do it ourselves, then maybe we aren’t meant to survive in this universe.”

“Think about the people who died today. What did they die for? Are we going to keep sacrificing our lives to a fight without a cause? How are we going defeat the Anti-Spirals that way?”

Another hush filled the room as everyone looked around, noticing how many people from the earlier meeting were missing now.

Gimmy sighed. “Right now, we’re the only ones who can stop him. The choice lies in our hands.”

“And if we’re going to do it, we’ll have to do it fast,” Yoko added. “Before there are anymore needless deaths.”

The crowd was full of unsure looks. “But…but how? He’s stronger than any of us. If we mess up, he might pull some Spiral voodoo on us or something!”

“We’ll need to take him by surprise,” someone suggested. “Finish him in one shot so he won’t have the chance to fight back.”

There were murmurs of approval. Then, one-by-one, everyone’s line of sight came to rest on one person…and the weapon slung from her shoulder.

Yoko’s throat tightened. To think that her reputation as the Gurren Brigade’s best shot would come back to bite her like this…

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll do it.”


	10. The Plan

Yoko’s rifle fired a bullet, obliterating its target in one shot. Pieces of wood clattered to the floor. Without hesitating, she shot the next target, blowing a hole straight through the bullseye.

The sound of gunshots reverberated on the walls of the training room, mixed with the noise from the piloting simulators. There were only three other people in there with her, and before she was done practicing, two of them had left. The last of them stayed behind, watching as she finished off the remaining target boards.

“We decided it’s going to be today,” Kittan said. “Think you’d be able to do it?”

The others were in charge of the when and where of the plan. For the past couple of days, Yoko’s role had just been to practice as much as she could as they worked things out.

She lowered her rifle. “I’m ready.”

“We’ll let you know when and where.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t leave.

“What is it, Kittan?” Yoko asked, turning to look at him.

“Just…wondering if you were really okay about this.”

“You’re asking now?”

He shrugged.

Yoko sighed. “I take my job seriously, Kittan. I’m not going to back down from something I’ve already decided to do. And this is my chance to prove to everyone once and for all that I’m really on their side.”

“But are you okay with it?”

She raised her eyebrow.

“I mean, you…you’ve been in here all day, just practicing.”

“Of course I have. I’ve gotten rusty. I can’t afford to miss.”

He frowned. “That’s not what I meant. What I’m sayin’ is that you’ve been too calm the whole time. Think about _who_ you’re targeting. Can you really say that you feel nothing?”

She’d thought about it well enough. Every time she pulled the trigger, she imagined Simon’s head in the crosshairs. But she knew he was only asking out of concern. “I plan on dealing with any regrets I have afterward. Right now I need to focus on getting it done.”

Shouldering the strap of her rifle, Yoko turned to leave, but paused beside him as she did. “…But I might be happy if you could be there for me when it’s over.”

Kittan blinked in surprise. Then he grinned. “I’ve got your back.”

She allowed herself to smile and walked out of the room. As she made her way down the hall, she heard Kittan call after her.

“Oh yeah! Keep an eye out for Cibela.“

“Got it.”

“You be careful, all right?!”

“Just who do you think I am?” Yoko called back.

From there she headed for the galley. As soon as she sat down with a tray of food, Cibela came to sit across from her.

“I’ve got word from Gimmy,” she whispered. Cibela glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then went on. “We think the main computer room would be the best place.”

“The computer room?”

Cibela nodded. “No one will be able to see you.”

Simon had made an announcement in the past couple of days that the main computer room was now off limits to anyone without his permission. Apparently he was experimenting with Spiral Power, and didn’t want any distractions. Now that they were going into battle with more enemies, it was no surprise that Simon would start locking himself in with Lord Genome again.

Yoko poked at her food. Now that the day and place was decided, all she needed was the time.

Cibela opened her mouth to say something again, but then shut it abruptly and looked down, finally tucking into her food. Yoko found out what had made her do so a moment later, when Boota— Taboo— came walking up from behind her with his own tray and sat down a few tables over.

Yoko continued eating as well, all the while aware that she was being watched. At least Simon had the sense to realize that the declaration of war wouldn’t be popular among the crew. But the only eyes and ears he had beyond his own belonged to someone who used to snuggle in her cleavage as a day job. She didn’t consider him a real threat to the plan.

After eating, Yoko’s next stop was the showers. No one else was in there while she bathed, but just as she was getting dressed, someone entered the room.

“Hey, Yoko.”

“Leite.” Yoko nodded to her.

The older woman’s voice was just audible over the running water as she stepped into a shower. “Are you going to be all right today?”

“You know me. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so. Oh, and don’t you worry about that Taboo. We’ll take care of him.” She winked slyly.

Yoko returned to her room, sat on her bed, and began cleaning her rifle and pistol. She looked over every piece with a scrutinizing eye. Everything had to be perfect. She couldn’t afford to miss.

Once she’d finished cleaning and loaded all the bullets, all she had to do was wait. Minutes passed. And finally, there was a knock on the door, followed by someone’s voice.

“He’s in.”

It was time.

Yoko stood up and looked at the bed sadly, recalling what happened the last time Simon had been in this room. Two lovers, dead. And she would be responsible for both.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of such thoughts. “You brought this on yourself, Simon.” But somewhere inside, she knew that if she succeeded today, she would never be able to bring herself to sleep in that bed again.

 

* * *

  

The path to the computer room was clear. People rarely came by this room at all, and for those who did, she trusted her friends to have taken care of that somehow. The place would be easy to stake out.

She walked carefully down the hall to keep her footsteps from being heard. The door of the computer room was ahead. Looking around, she found a good angle where she would be able to hide around a corner and aim for the door. He wouldn’t be able to see her immediately when he came out, and she would have a good shot.

But first, just to make sure he was still in there, she pressed her ear to the door. Sure enough, she heard Simon’s voice. Satisfied, she was about to pull away when another voice reached her ear, a voice she was very sure did not belong to Lord Genome. It sounded higher-pitched. It sounded _feminine_. Someone else was in there with him?

This was not according to plan. Yoko considered her options. She could either walk away now and try another time, or she could stay to find out who this other person was. Didn’t Simon forbid people from entering? Maybe it was a crew member who hadn’t heard the order somehow? But it didn’t sound as if Simon was angry.

She listened closer. She couldn’t make out very many words, which meant that they weren’t near to the door.

That voice sounded strangely familiar. But she couldn’t put a name to it, couldn’t recall hearing it anywhere on the ship itself. Of course, she wasn’t well acquainted with _everyone_ in the crew…

What caught her ear next threw her for a loop. Did he…did he just say…”Nia”? No, that couldn’t have been it, she must have misheard. But she hadn’t thought of that name in weeks, there was no reason for it to come to mind now— but even if he did say it, there was no one named Nia living on the ship…

Unless it was a nickname. Of course. It seemed so obvious now. If “Nia” was just a nickname, then even if this person was alive and on the ship, of course she wouldn’t have come up on the search…

…Wait just one goddamn minute! What the hell was he doing sleeping with Yoko in the first place if this “Nia” was already on the ship?!

…That _rotten bastard!!!_

She grit her teeth. It took all of her self-control not to just kick down the door and charge inside. Instead, she put her hand on the door panel. The door slid open. She held her breath, but the conversation inside continued without interruption. She peered in. The room was lit with a pale green light; Simon had turned the overhead lights on. Her target and his visitor weren’t in sight.

“It puts me to sleep, honestly,” she heard Simon say. “One time he tried explaining to me about cloning and how he made the Beastmen; I could barely understand a word he said.”

“Did you understand what he told you today?” asked the female voice.

“A little. I’m not really concerned about the theory. As long as I know what to do… “

Yoko entered the room, rifle in hand, stealthily following the direction of the voices. They didn’t sound far enough to be in the center of the room, which meant that they were hiding somewhere between the giant rows of computers.

“But what Father said today was very complex…even I did not know that much about Anti-Spiral DNA…”

This made Yoko furrow her eyebrows. Father? Anti-Spiral DNA? What were they talking about?

“Well, I try to pay attention if it’s important.” Simon sounded amused now. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a wake-up call every now and then…”

There was silence for a few seconds. Yoko held her breath again.

“…Oh. I see. …But why did you bring me over here?”

“Um. Nia. Your father is _right there_.”

“Yes, he is. What is your point?”

This only made her feel more baffled. Were they referring to Lord Genome as a father? Nia’s father? Surely there weren’t any more people in the room…

Simon sighed. “I’ll explain later.” After that, they fell silent again.

Fortunately, by now she was close enough that she could estimate where they were. Across from her, approximately a few rows down. Yoko peeked around the computer she was hiding behind and saw them.

At first glance, all she could make out of Nia was a mass of long curly hair. Simon was facing in Yoko’s direction, his eyes closed. They were kissing, her arms around his shoulders and his around her waist. Both clearly distracted from the rest of the world.

Yoko felt another surge of anger at this, but then her breath caught in her throat as she finally recognized who the girl was.

The Anti-Spiral Messenger.

She quickly retreated back behind the computer and stood there frozen in shock, trying to make sense of it all. Nia…was the Anti-Spiral Messenger? That was why the voice had sounded so familiar…? And she was inside… _inside the ship!_ In the secret computer room! And they were kissing!

What the…what the hell was he _doing?!_ Did he lose his mind completely?! Had he been allied with the Anti-Spirals all this time? Was that why they were no closer to defeating them? Were they being sabotaged? What about the colony? Did they know about that too?!

The unspeakable rage and horror built up inside of her until she could barely think. She only knew of one thing— Simon had to die. She had to kill him. NOW.

Yoko hoisted the rifle. Finger on the trigger, eye on the scope, she set Simon’s head in the crosshairs like she had imagined so many times and took a deep breath.

And just then, as if her intake of air had finally alerted his instincts, Simon’s eyes shot open. He saw her.

In the quarter of a second he had to react, Simon did not try to run or duck. He only shoved the Messenger away, and after that, it was too late to do anything.

Yoko pulled the trigger. A bullet exploded from the mouth of her rifle.

She didn’t miss.

There was a spray of blood. The impact threw Simon back. A shrill scream came from the Anti-Spiral Messenger.

Yoko’s heartbeat drummed in her hears. Time ticked by in slow motion as she watched him fall.

But Simon did not reach the floor. He stumbled back just in time and regained his balance. Then, slowly, a trembling hand went to cover the gaping hole in his face.

He had taken a direct shot to his right eye.

But he was still alive.

He was still standing.

He was still _conscious_.

For a moment, Yoko could only stare in disbelief. (That bullet should have gone right through! Just how hard is his head?!) Then her instincts kicked back in. The job still wasn’t done.

But when she looked back through her scope, this time what came into view was the Messenger’s blood-splattered face as she turned to look wide-eyed in her direction.

In the next instant, she was gone, and Yoko suddenly had the rifle wrenched out of her hands. The Messenger had teleported right in front of her, seized the weapon from her grasp, and tossed it away, all the while glaring in cold fury.

Yoko took two steps back, pulling a pistol from her jacket’s inside pocket in the same movement, and fired. The Messenger teleported away, and there was a blast of sparks from the computer behind where she once stood.

She reappeared by Yoko’s side, now attempting to grab the pistol, but Yoko threw her elbow into her face. She teleported again before the elbow could made contact, and then Yoko felt icy arms wrap around her neck from behind.

Yoko choked, and brought the pistol over her shoulder. The arms disappeared right as she pulled the trigger. She heard more sparks as the bullet hit another computer.

It was like fighting a ghost. But just as she could not manage to land a blow on her opponent, Yoko would not allow herself to be disarmed again.

Changing tactics, the Messenger appeared in front of her, this time reaching for the rifle on the floor. Oh, _shit_ — Yoko shot around the rifle, driving the Messenger away from it.

All this time, Simon did not move an inch. Blood dribbled from between his fingers and onto the floor in a steady drip, drip, drip. His remaining eye was tightly shut. He breathed in agonized gasps. It occurred to her that he must be so overwhelmed by pain that he could barely move.

This was reassuring. No matter his superhuman abilities, he was still mortal. He bled and experienced pain just as any other human would. He might be difficult to kill, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.

But at the same time…it wasn’t supposed to have happened this way. She thought it would be quick and easy. Instead, he felt everything and was bleeding out slowly. She wasn’t prepared to deal with this. Why couldn’t the damn bastard have just died with the first shot?!

With the Messenger now out of arms’ reach of the rifle, Yoko aimed her pistol at Simon. She had to end it, for his sake as well as everyone else’s.

The Messenger’s eyes widened. She began to move. “Simon—“

In a split second, Yoko turned the pistol on her and fired. The bullet missed the Messenger’s head by a millimeter, tearing through her hair instead.

“Stop!” Simon finally spoke. “Yoko…stop…”

So he had a bullet embedded in his head and was still able to talk. At this rate, anything could happen and she wouldn’t be surprised.

“Stop?! You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Simon!” Yoko whipped the pistol back to him again. “Give me one reason why I should listen to a single word you say!”

“It’s not…what it looks like…she didn’t…she’s not here to…” He spoke with difficulty, his words coming out in a jumbled mess. He tried to take a step forward, but the strength in his legs finally gave out, and he fell to his knees.

“Simon!” the Messenger cried again. Yoko shot at her feet before she could make another move.

“Don’t kill her!” Simon roared. His left eye was open now, glowering up at her. Despite the fact that he was kneeling in a pool of his own blood, he seemed only concerned for his Nia. Did he think Yoko was here to kill _her?_

She should at least clear up that misunderstanding. “I didn’t come for her, Simon. I came to kill _you_.”

Then he finally seemed to understand. He swallowed. “I should’ve…I should’ve seen this coming…”

“Yes, you should have!” Yoko snapped. “You must be some kind of idiot to think we wouldn’t want you dead after everything you’ve done!”

“I can’t die, Yoko…”

“Too bad! You don’t have a say in that anymore!”

“Dammit…” His left hand tightened into a fist on the floor, knuckles turning white. Surely even he must know that there was little more he could do besides that. He was getting weaker with every second. It was pitiful, to see a man who would wage war on the universe, a boy who was once full of youthful promise, now reduced to _this_.

Movement caught Yoko’s eye. The Messenger was using that moment to dive at the rifle again. She just managed to get her fingers on the handle before Yoko shot at it, knocking it away. The Messenger stumbled back, clutching her hand.

“Don’t move!” Yoko yelled. She aimed the pistol straight between her eyes.

“You wouldn’t dare shoot me,” the Messenger said, glaring coldly again. “My body is composed of unstable molecules that would explode the instant it is pierced. All three of us would die and this room would be destroyed.”

She had a point. Yoko had not thought of bringing Spiral shells. Shooting the Messenger with normal bullets would be disastrous. But Yoko had already made up her mind: mission first, regrets later. Even if that meant not surviving to have regrets. “I wouldn’t dare?” Her finger began to tighten over the trigger. “Clearly, you have no idea just how serious this situation really is.”

Yoko, don’t!” Simon yelled. “Nia, get out of here!”

“No!” The Messenger remained defiant. “I won’t leave!”

“Nia!!”

“If you die, I die, remember?!”

“I know…” A look of anguish crossed his face. “Dammit, I KNOW!”

Yoko looked at the two of them. What were they talking about now?

This whole situation felt surreal, like it was out of a dream. The Anti-Spiral Messenger, inside the ship, showing real emotion, and _she_ was the secret Nia person whose name she had heard Simon gasp in her ear not too long ago. And then there was Simon, unable to fight and actually _caring_ about someone for the first time since Kamina died.

But then the Simon she had gotten to know over the last ten years showed himself again.

“Maybe…maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,” he said, a haunted smile creeping up on his face. “I could see Bro again…”

“Simon…?” The Messenger turned to look at him, uncertainty in her voice.

“I could introduce you to him, Nia…”

“Simon, I don’t understand…”

“It’s not like we could have had a future anyway…”

“No!” She seemed to realize now. Simon was accepting death. “No, no!”

“Isn’t this what you wanted? To stop the Spiral Nemesis…if I die, then…”

“No! Not like this!”

“Nia…I should say this at least once…”

“NO!” she screamed desperately. “What about your promise?! You promised, Simon!”

Simon faltered. Whatever he was about to say died on his lips.

“…What promise?” Yoko asked, looking from one to the other.

Neither of them answered. They only looked at each other, as if Yoko had ceased to exist.

“What promise?!” she asked again, louder. Her voice echoed within the room.

Yoko couldn’t have predicted what happened next. The Messenger simply closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands.

“It’s not going to end this way. I won’t accept it.”

Simon stammered. “Nia, what are you…”

“You meant it when you made that promise, Simon. I know you meant it. And even if you choose death now, I’m going to keep believing in that. Because I know, dead or alive, you’ll keep your word in the end.”

Yoko and Simon could only stare in shared disbelief. With Simon’s life fading away and her own life on the line, the Messenger chose to be blind and deaf. Leaving things to chance, at a time like this?!

“Nia…”

Yoko looked back at Simon. His breathing was growing more ragged, his expression strained, his left eye looking increasingly bleary and clouded. But then he grit his teeth, and when he said her name again, this time his voice carried more conviction.

“Nia…!”

And then she saw it. The pool of blood was rippling around him, as if some kind of breeze was emanating from his body.

“Wha…?!”

Simon raised his head, left eye blazing green. Teeth bared, he lurched forward with a groan, getting back on his feet.

Instantly, Yoko fired at his head. But before the bullet could reach him, it was deflected by something like an invisible shield and buried itself in a nearby computer instead.

At first not understanding what happened, Yoko continued shooting at him, but each bullet was turned away. All the while, he walked toward her, one foot forward at a time, slowly but deliberately. Blood trailed down his right hand and dripped to the floor through his sleeve. What looked like green flames were shooting from between the fingers covering his eye, burning ever fiercer as he made his way.

It was the worst thing that could have happened. She was able to catch him off guard the first time, but now he pushed his Spiral Power to the brink, so that not even her bullets could reach him. But there was still one option left.

Yoko turned her pistol on the Messenger again. But when she pulled the trigger, this time she only heard a click. In dismay, she realized that she had wasted all her remaining bullets uselessly on Simon. She hurriedly unloaded the empty clip and dug for more ammunition in her jacket pocket. She reloaded her pistol as fast as she could, but her hands shook, and she cursed under her breath, hearing Simon’s approaching footsteps.

Finally, she raised the pistol again, but a hand clamped over the muzzle before she could do anything more. Yoko froze. Simon stood right in front of her. The iron smell of blood filled her nose. A green glow lit both their faces, and gazing into the visage of her once-friend-once-lover, for the first time Yoko felt fear. Sheer, immobilizing fear.

“You’re in my way,” Simon growled. His hold on the pistol tightened. The metal began to give way under his fingers. Too late, Yoko tried to tug it away, but his grip was solid as steel, and the muzzle was crushed.

Then she felt a hard blow to her abdomen, and she blacked out.

 

* * *

  

When she came to, she was lying on the floor of the computer room. What remained of the pistol had fallen from her hand. Simon and the Messenger were nowhere in sight, but a trail of blood drops went past her, leading to the door.

Yoko moved to get up, and immediately felt a sharp pain tear through her insides. Breathing in short gasps, she glanced down and saw a bruise starting to darken along her midriff. She might have gotten a cracked rib or two. Yoko turned her head around, looking for her rifle, and spotted it in the shadow of a computer. Gingerly she pulled herself to her feet, and wincing all the way, retrieved the rifle and went in pursuit. The drops of blood went out the door and down the hall, then turned a corner.

How long had she been out? How far was Simon now? Yoko continued following the trail, then stopped when she saw a bare footprint smudged in the blood. The footprint continued from there onwards, which meant that the Messenger— Nia— was with Simon now, and still neither of them were in sight.

What now? The involvement of the Anti-Spiral Messenger had been completely unexpected, and so their back-up plans did not take her into account. Depending on how far Simon had gone, the ship might already be in total chaos, and either way she couldn’t hope to catch up with him now.

The plan had failed. She did not succeed in finishing him off. But thinking more clearly now, Yoko reasoned that with how the situation had evolved, it would be a wiser move to inform the others of what exactly happened than to move on her own any longer. Taking a final look at the trail of blood, Yoko changed course to where she knew Kittan and Gimmy would be waiting to hear from her.

 

* * *

  

At that moment, Boota was feeling rather proud of himself. About an hour earlier, he had been cornered in the hall by Leite and a busty mechanic girl whose name he could not recall. They claimed that they had discovered something interesting on one of the Spiral artifacts, and wanted the captain to take a look at it. Knowing that Simon had just gone to the main computer room again, Boota explained that the captain was busy at the moment and he would be sure to remind him of it later.

But then the two women simply asked him to come instead. Any protests that Boota might have had disappeared when the mechanic girl clung to his arm, the sensation of her breasts brushing up against him. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look, he thought. Just for a few minutes.

And so he allowed himself to be dragged down to the reconstruction bay where the artifacts were stored. But once there, he found it very hard to concentrate on whatever alien writing they were pointing to, because they were both leaning over, and it really should be illegal for females to wear their jumpsuits slightly open like that, so that their breasts would overflow just a bit, and he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by every…single…jiggle.

Thanks to that, he ended up staying quite a bit longer than he intended to, and he probably would have stayed longer (he certainly did not completely hear everything they said, and had to ask them to repeat things several times) if he didn’t realize that the situation could potentially lead him to doing something inappropriate. And so he fled, or rather, excused himself quickly and returned to what he was doing before, which was patrolling the halls and keeping an eye on the crew. As it was, he thought he handled that situation much better than he would have one or two years ago, and considered it a test of his self-control.

But now that he was back on the upper decks, something about the atmosphere of the place had changed. There was a tension in the air. He thought he heard _screams_ coming from ahead. Boota hurried down the hall, and finally came across crewmembers running in the opposite direction, looking terrified.

He grabbed one of them. “What happened?!”

“The…the Anti-Spirals!” the crewman gasped. “They’ve killed the Captain! They’re gonna kill us all!”

His blood chilled. “… _What?!_ ”

Boota let the man go and continued on, his mind in a daze.

No…it couldn’t…it couldn’t be true…

But when he rounded a corner, his worst fears were confirmed. There was the Anti-Spiral Messenger, with Simon’s arm around her shoulders, dragging him down the hall. Simon was pale and lifeless, half of his face a raw wound. Both of them were covered in blood.

Boota could barely breathe as the horror of what was before him registered in his mind and turned to despair.

How…how could he have let this happen…he should have been more careful…more vigilant…they should have known better…they should never have trusted her in the first place…

Simon…was dead…he’d _failed_ him…

But then a frail voice reached his ears. “Please…” It was the Anti-Spiral Messenger’s voice.

“Please…help…” she said.

That snapped him out of his daze. He stepped closer. The Messenger was struggling under Simon’s weight, looking lost and distressed. She didn’t appear to know where she was going.

Boota examined Simon. He was alive. His pulse was very weak, and he was unconscious, but he still breathed.

There wasn’t a moment to lose. Taking Simon’s other arm, he helped the Messenger carry him to the nearest medical bay.

“Doctor! We need a doctor!” he yelled immediately, bursting in.

There were a few other people inside the room already, and they screamed. The doctor hurried over, but then stopped full in his tracks when he caught sight of the Messenger.

“What are you staring at?!” Boota snapped. “Do your job! _Save him!_ ”

The doctor flinched, then called over an assistant. They hesitantly approached and took charge of Simon, moving him to prep for surgery.

The Messenger fell to her knees, exhausted. The other residents of the medical bay were still gaping at her. Boota looked around at them, thinking quickly. “No one is to leave this room without my permission! Understand?”

He then took the Messenger by the arm, pulling her back on her feet. “Come on,” he whispered. “You can’t let them see you looking weak.”

“Is he…is he going to be okay?” she asked.

“He’ll be fine. He’s going to get the treatment he needs.” Somehow, reassuring her helped Boota reassure himself too.

They both watched in silence as the doctor and nurses worked on Simon. Boota glanced over at the Messenger once and saw that she was trembling. Blood painted her hair, face and hands. He went to get a towel, offering it to her, but instead of wiping the blood off, she clutched it tightly in her hands as if her life depended on it.

Finally, he asked. “Do you know who did this?”

“It was a woman. With red hair.”

Boota groaned. “Yoko.” If _she_ was involved, that meant there was no telling how much of the crew had turned against them.

“Yes, Simon called her that.” The Messenger looked at him. “Who is she?”

“One of our oldest friends. She was with us when we came up to the surface.” He would leave all the other details to Simon if he ever wished to explain them to her. “This is bad. Very bad.” He fell silent after that, assessing the situation in his mind and trying to think what they should do next.

Some minutes later, the Messenger spoke again. “Thank you…for trusting me.”

“What?”

“Everyone was running away. No one would listen to me.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “Thank you.”

“…Simon trusts you. That’s good enough.” He felt a stab of guilt, remembering how at first he’d thought she had killed Simon. Well, now he knew better.

“Listen,” he said. “We don’t know how many others on this ship are involved. Simon has only us to depend on, so we’re going to have to work together while he’s being treated.”

She nodded.

“First of all, we can’t let anyone leave this room for any reason. In the worst case scenario, they’ll be our hostages. We can’t let anyone else come in either. Also, since you’ve been seen, there’s going to be panic. I’m going to try salvaging the situation however much I can by explaining to everyone that you don’t mean any harm.”

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“Yes. That means you’ll have to watch over Simon and everyone here. Don’t let your guard down. Make sure the doctors don’t make any mistakes intentionally; we don’t know if we can trust them either.”

“But— how would I know if they made a mistake?” She began to panic. “I don’t know anything about doctors or medicine—“

“ _Act_ like you know,” he said. “Then they’ll think better than to mess up. Will you be able to do that?”

She gulped, getting her wits together, and finally nodded.

“Good. I don’t know how long I’ll be away, but I’ll be sure to come back.” He took one last look at Simon, then headed for the door.

The Messenger called after him in a quiet voice. “Be careful.”


	11. Escape

Simon was in a very deep sleep.

Nia sat on a chair at his bedside. The doctors and the hostages sat around on the other side of the room. She had been keeping an eye on them, with the occasional glance back at Simon.

How long had it been since they came in here? Hours? Days? Minutes blended together, nervous whispers and the beeping of machines filled her head. She felt like she had been holding her breath the entire time. When would it end?

Then she heard a rustle. Nia glanced at Simon again to find that he was finally awake.

She started forward. "Simon...!"

"Hi," he chuckled.

Nia felt the tension in her body flow out at last. "You're okay..." She wanted to cry with relief, but held it back, aware of the others in the room.

Simon was looking at her, half of his face covered in bandages, his remaining eye half-lidded. "Why's your hair red?" he asked. His speech was unusually sluggish.

"My hair?" She put a hand to her head and felt a dried substance matting her hair. Oh...his blood...

"Where are we? And what's covering my eye...can't feel anything..."

Before she could stop him, Simon reached up a hand to touch the side of his face. He felt around with seeking fingers. Seconds later, his eye widened in realization.

Her heart twinged. "Simon...your eye..."

"Oh. _Oh_. Well...that sucks." His arm dropped back to his side.

Nia sat there, unsure what to do next. She'd been so worried that he wouldn't wake up that she hadn't thought of what to say when he did...

She took a shaky breath. "How are you feeling?"

"...Weird."

"Weird?"

"Like...like when a planet explodes, and a beastman swallows a black hole. Y'know?"

Now she felt very confused. "Simon, that doesn't make sense. How could a beastman swallow a black hole?"

He didn't answer, instead looking straight up at the ceiling.

Nia fretted. Was what he said important? Would something terrible happen if she didn't understand it??

She touched his arm to get his attention again. "How much do you remember?"

"Remember?"

He stared at her for a long moment. Nia wrung the towel in her hands.

Finally, he grinned. Or at least tried to, with half of his face completely numb. "Wow. I'm one pathetic bastard."

Nia blinked in surprise. She had been hoping for him to say something more meaningful.

"And you're turning into Yoko. I'm screwed."

"What? I'm not..."

He reached up and began brushing at her hair, trying to get the blood off. His fingers got caught in her matted curls.

"Ow. Simon, stop—"

He relented, lowering his arm. He let out a deep sigh. "Don't turn into Yoko, okay?"

"I wouldn't, Simon. I'm Nia. _Nia_." She choked on her words. It hadn't really been too long since he'd asked her, _Tell me who you are_. But it felt so long ago now...

 

* * *

  

The surgery was completed successfully. Miraculously, the bullet had not caused any serious damage to Simon's brain (though miracles probably had nothing to do with it), but he had lost a lot of blood and was put in intensive care.

The following few days were tense. The first thing Boota did was announce to the crew that the Anti-Spiral Messenger had joined their side and was no longer a threat. Of course, this only led to more questions, many of which he couldn't answer, and it was clear that the majority of the crew still had their doubts. He also had to be vague on Simon's current condition, beyond the fact that there had been an unsuccessful assassination attempt, for both his own safety as well as Simon's.

Yoko was still nowhere to be seen. For the moment, he'd announced that she was wanted for treason, but Boota didn't expect her to be actually found. No doubt she was still somewhere on the ship, but even if he gave someone the task of finding her, they could very well be the one helping her hide.

Everywhere he went, he could sense that out of eyeshot, people were whispering, doubting, gathering arms. Despite his best efforts, he knew that before long, the situation was going to boil over again.

At least the Anti-Spirals seemed unaware of the extent to which they were falling apart, or if they were, hadn't yet taken advantage of it. According to Nia, the Spiral Power levels of the crew had fallen overall, but that was masked by Simon's Spiral Power, which was apparently working overtime to unconsciously accentuate his healing.

Right now Boota stood in the main bridge, going over the status of the ship with the operators. Kittan and Kidd also sat at a couple of computers, not doing particularly anything (if glowering didn't count). It was quite obvious that they were there to watch over him. But then, he was already sure that they must have played some part in the assassination attempt, and surely they knew that he knew. He chose not to comment on it yet, if only to delay the conflict...

"And how about the damage to the main computer room?"

"Systems are back running at full capacity. But it looks like we lost several drives of memory..."

Boota sighed. "Is it important?"

Tetsukan answered. "All the information from the Lord Genome Head is intact. We're still checking over the rest." He squinted at his monitor, grumbling. "If Cibela were here to help..."

An uneasy silence settled on the bridge. Cibela had been one of the people in the medical bay when Simon was brought in, getting treatment for a migraine. She'd been stuck there ever since.

Kittan suddenly swiveled around in his seat to face Boota. "So when are they gonna be let out, huh?"

Boota chose his words carefully. "Soon."

"When?" Now Kidd joined in.

By now everyone knew approximately how much damage Simon had taken, either because they saw him in the halls themselves or from rumors. What they didn't know was how much he'd recovered, if at all. Whether he was on the brink of death or ready to come tearing out as strong as ever. The longer they kept the hostages, the more those on the outside would think that he was vulnerable, or even already dead. But the hostages themselves knew better than anyone what his condition was...they couldn't afford to let them go yet...

Becoming impatient, Kittan spoke up again. "Why don't you have Miss Anti-Spiral Messenger show her face to us, if she's really on our side. Let us question her."

There were murmurs of agreement from all around the bridge.

"She doesn't quite trust everyone yet," Boota answered, more curtly than he intended.

"So that's how it is, eh? She trusts the captain but not the rest of us?" Kittan stood up, crossing his arms. "Whose side is she really on?"

Kidd snorted. "That's easy. Whatever side the captain's on. And that's sure the hell not our side."

These two clearly weren't as interested in maintaining the status quo as everyone else.

Boota struggled to keep his voice level. "I believe reason states that those who attempted mutiny should be accused of treason first."

"THEN WHAT ABOUT IRAAK AND ZORTHY, HUH?!" Kidd snapped. "Weren't they betrayed?!"

Boota could feel the fur on the back of his neck beginning to stand on end. All eyes were on him now. He had to stay calm, maintain control...

"This and that have nothing to do with each other," he said, knowing it was a lie. "I suggest you calm down before—"

"To hell with that!" Kidd leapt forward. "Why should we trust you anyway? What else are you hiding? What's the captain really planning?!" Kidd seized his collar, trying to drag Boota down to his level.

In that moment, instinct took over.

Boota grabbed Kidd's throat and _squeezed_. Kidd choked, eyes bugging out as Boota's grip, laced with Spiral Power, lifted the man a few inches off the floor.

"Kidd, let go!" Kittan exclaimed, trying to get between them. "You saw what that freak did to Yoko!"

They both let go at once. Kidd dropped to the floor, clutching his neck and gasping for air.

"So..." Boota said, looking to Kittan. "You _have_ seen her."

Kittan glared. "And? What are you going to do about it?"

It was an invitation. A threat. He could easily beat the two of them with his bare hands, but that would further cost him the trust of the crew. But if they admitted to outright treason, he would have to do something about it. If he ordered for their arrest, would anyone obey? He was clearly outnumbered...

"I will see to it that the captain knows of this," he said. And without a look back, he left the bridge. Walking quickly down the hall, he adjusted his collar with a trembling hand, adrenaline still pumping.

He'd handled that badly. The stress was getting to him. He didn't know how much longer he could take of this...

 

* * *

  

Simon felt like throwing up. He'd drifted in and out of sleep several times since he first woke up, Nia and the doctors fussing over him all the while. He was put on pain killers as the feeling returned to his face, and now he sat up in bed, trying to sort out his muddled thoughts to make sense of what had happened.

Nia was with the doctors at the moment, trying very hard to look like she understood what they were saying. For some reason she carried a towel in her hands; she didn't seem to be using it for anything. Though that wasn't the least bit disconcerting as the dried blood in her hair, which thankfully didn't belong to her.

He was glad to see Boota when he came in. Likewise, when Boota saw him, he looked visibly relieved. Nia came over to join them.

"How are you feeling?" asked Boota.

"Like shit, thanks."

Boota smirked. "And in a good mood as always?"

"I've got a hole where my eye used to be," Simon grumbled. "It's not very pleasant."

"Well, nice to have you among the living again." He turned to Nia. "How have things been holding up here?"

"No one's tried to escape yet, but they are hungry. The doctors are rationing the food stores. They said that Simon shouldn't be getting out of bed yet, but they're confused because he's healing faster than is normal..." She sounded exhausted.

Boota nodded. "I'll go talk to them." He left their company.

Nia sunk into the seat beside Simon. After a moment, she asked, "You're not weird anymore?"

"What?"

"You said you were feeling 'weird' before."

"I...did?"

She nodded. "You were saying many odd things when you woke up."

"Like what?"

"Something about a beastman swallowing a black hole. And you said there was a grapehippo under your bed, and I checked, but there weren't any grapehippos."

"...Seriously? I said that?" The hell, he couldn't remember any of that! "What else did I say?" Nothing too embarrassing, he hoped.

"You thought I was turning into Yoko."

"...Oh." What the fuck?! Wait, when did she learn Yoko's name? Did he say it out loud before? He couldn't remember exactly. His head throbbed.

"He told me she was a friend of yours."

'He'? Oh, right...Boota. Crap, how much did he tell her?!

Nia opened her mouth again, looking like she wanted to ask him something, but he interrupted her bluntly. "I don't want to talk about it."

His reaction seemed to catch her off guard. Simon looked away.

Nia and Yoko were two parts of his life that he never wanted to intersect. And now that they had collided, he couldn't help but want to retain what little control he had left over the situation. No matter how futile it was.

"Um...Simon." She hesitated. "About what happened..."

Shit. No. He didn't want to talk about _that_ either.

"What about it?" he asked coldly.

She looked a bit hurt. "You said that...we have no future. But I...you...you didn't mean that, did you?"

"What do you think?"

"Well...you made a promise. And that's why you got back up, right?"

An image surfaced in his memory. Nia with her eyes closed, hands over her ears. His stomach clenched. That's right...it wasn't just his own life that he gave up on back then; he was about to make her lose hers too. It was despicable. How was he supposed to face her now?

"Wh-what are you getting at?"

"I don't know." She bit her lip. "I'm just worried..."

He hoped that was the end of the conversation. Boota, get the hell back here...

"Do you...really want to die?"

Shutupshutupshutup!

"...You did it first," he mumbled.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to die all by yourself, remember?"

She protested. "I didn't _want_ to..."

"But you accepted death. So we're even now. That's all."

It was hardly fair of him to say that, but out of some force of habit, he did anyway.

From the indignant look on her face, Nia didn't seem to find it fair either. She opened her mouth to retort— but then something seemed to crack, and instead, like a dam breaking, she burst into tears.

Shit. Why did he always keep making things worse?

Dismayed, Simon put his hands on her shoulders as Nia sobbed into her towel. "I...I'm sorry," he said lamely. Shit, he really didn't deserve her at all. "I'm sorry."

Looking around for help, he saw Boota and the doctors staring in their direction. Boota quickly motioned for him to do something. Oh. Simon reached over and pulled a curtain around the bed, hiding them from view.

As Nia began to calm down, she glared at him through her tears. "You...you are a..." She struggled to think of a word to express her frustration.

"An ungrateful jerk?" he offered.

She nodded. Sniffling, she leant her head against his shoulder, and gave his chest a light pound with her fist. It didn't hurt much (not even comparable to the pounding in his head), but it could have created a fissure in his heart for how it made him feel.

"I know." He wrapped her in a hug, sighing. "I've gotta stop letting you down so much..."

 

* * *

  

When Boota came back, they sat down to discuss what they were going to do.

Clearing his throat, Boota began. "Let me explain the situation."

"I know the situation," Simon said. "Everyone wants me dead."

Boota frowned. "Not everyone."

He forced a smile. "Right." He glanced at Nia, who stood watching the hostages through an opening in the curtain. Her eyes were still red from crying, expression icy. "...Go on."

"First, your secret is out. I've tried to explain best as I can without giving out...certain details, but I don't think it's convinced anyone. Many still seem to believe that there is an enemy on board. Things have calmed down enough for now, but who knows how long that will last."

He gestured to outside the curtain. "We decided to keep the people here as possible hostages. Obviously that doesn't make anyone happy either, but it's the only way to make sure no one storms us."

"How about the Anti-Spirals?" Simon asked. "Have they attacked while I was under?"

"Not yet, fortunately."

Nia spoke up. "But they will know that something is wrong when they do. They could come at any time."

Boota nodded. "And you aren't in the shape to participate in a battle yet."

"I can get by somehow," Simon shrugged. "A little head wound isn't going to stop me."

"But that would reveal your weaknesses to everyone. It would be safer to stay out of sight until you've regained your health."

He scowled. "So we're sitting ducks here? Perfect."

To hell with it all. If he was dead, at least he wouldn't have to deal with this crap.

...But of course, that wasn't an option anymore. Both Nia and Boota counted on him to live. They were looking to him to make decisions.

Too bad he wasn't exactly brimming with ideas at the moment.

As if reading his mind, Boota spoke again. "I might have an idea."

"Yeah?"

He lowered his voice to a hush. "Maybe...we should leave."

Simon blinked. Nia also turned her head in surprise.

Boota explained. "Like you said, we're sitting ducks. We can expect an attack from either the crew, the Anti-Spirals, or the other Spiral races at any moment. We can't take any direct action without putting ourselves in more danger, and at this point, I don't know if it's even possible to regain the crew's trust. In that case, maybe we should go into hiding instead. It will give you time to heal, time to think... And at least they'll have to find us before they can do anything."

Simon thought it over. "We might never be able to come back again." Banished, exiled, wanted by the universe... No longer bound to any duty. Where would they go? What would they do? The possibilities felt both little and limitless.

"Yoko and the others who decided to mutiny must have already prepared themselves to continue the fight without us. I don't think there will be a problem if we remove ourselves as a threat before they do."

What Boota said made sense, but...he didn't like it. To leave everything behind, unfinished...but then, was there anything here that really mattered to him? If the whole schtick was over, if the people here didn't want him anymore, if he didn't have a reason to keep fighting in the first place...

Then Simon realized. "What about Lord Genome? We were working on finding a way to make Nia human..."

Boota shook his head. "It would be too much to expect that you'll be able to go in there again."

He looked to Nia next, and their eyes met. She seemed to consider it for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "I've already come to terms with my father. Right now, I would rather see you safe."

But that meant he couldn't keep his promise to her after all. "Are...are you sure?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile. "We'll find another way," Nia said reassuringly.

Simon had to marvel at that. She was the one who lost out from this the most. She was the one who was going to leave her father behind. And yet _she_ was the one reassuring _him_. Pathetic.

He sighed. What to do? He couldn't think of anything else. It _was_ a good plan. But it felt a little too much like...running away. Bro never ran away, did he?

What would Bro do if he were in this situation? He had no idea. He found it hard to imagine Bro even getting himself in this mess. Surely Yoko would never want to kill him either. That's right, if _he_ had died instead of Kamina that day, none of this would have happened...

But Bro was dead. He'd already given up on trying to live up to Kamina's legacy years ago. What would be the point of worrying about honor now that things came to this, when he had failed everyone, even dragging along the only two people who cared for him? Nia and Boota were still alive. What mattered now was keeping them safe, and if running away did the job, then...

"Simon?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, he looked back up to find Nia and Boota both giving him looks of concern. He smiled at them. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

Their relief was palpable.

"Where will we go?" Nia asked.

"Gurren-Lagann has warping capability, so we can go anywhere, conceivably. More importantly, we need to figure out _how_ to leave first." Boota went to get a map of the ship. He spread it out over the bed.

"The issue is how to get from here," he pointed to the medical bay where they were now, near the center of the ship, "to here," he pointed at the hangar on the lower level where Gurren-Lagann was stored, "without anyone seeing you."

"The nearest elevator is over here," Simon pointed, tracing his finger down the map. "If we can at least get there safely..."

"But there are people keeping watch over the entrance of the medical bay..."

They thought. Meanwhile, Nia came closer to study the map herself. It was a relief not having to worry about the Anti-Spirals using her as a spy anymore.

"I could cause a distraction," suggested Boota. "Maybe start a fight nearby. That could give you enough time to get to the elevator."

"And what do you expect me to do, leave you behind? I'm not going to have you risk your neck just so I can get away." Simon looked at the map again. "Besides, I also want to get something." He pointed at the captain's quarters on the upper level.

"Is it necessary?"

"I'm not leaving here without it."

Boota sighed. He seemed to understand.

"I can go get it for you," Nia said.

Hell no. She'd been shot at enough already. "You're not going alone."

"It'll be faster if she goes..."

"We're going together," Simon said firmly. "All three of us." He didn't care that it was unreasonable; he wasn't letting them out of his sight.

Boota and Nia shared a worried glance, but they nodded.

They tossed around more ideas for a while, but they were no closer to coming up with an effective plan. That is, until something on the map caught Nia's attention.

"What is this?" She pointed at the room directly below the main engine room labeled 'Back-up Generator.'

"That's where we keep the electric generator. We use it as a back-up for the Super Spiral Engine," Simon explained.

Nia continued looking at that part of the map in silent contemplation.

"What is it?"

"...As the Anti-Spiral Messenger, I can manipulate electric currents according to my will." She tapped her finger against the paper. "Do you think that can help with anything?"

He thought over the possibilities. Then an idea sparked.

"If we shut down the Super Spiral Engine...and take control of the backup generator..."

Yes!

Simon pulled back the curtain. "Cibela!"

Over with the others, Cibela jumped. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Pull up all the circuit diagrams for the ship on the computer."

Looking nervous and confused, Cibela stood and went to the computer in the room.

Throwing off the sheets, Simon climbed out of bed. The sudden movement caused him to nearly black out for a second. Flashes of color burst in his mind.

"Simon, take it easy!"

He swayed a little on his feet. Nia supported his body as he stood.

"Are you all right?"

"...Yeah, I'm fine." Actually, he felt like someone was slowly drilling into his head, but now wasn't the time to complain. He reached for his coat. Half of it was stained brown now, and he had some difficulty getting his arm through the stiff fabric of the right sleeve as he pulled it on. He then took a few tentative steps forward.

Cibela called. "Captain, I found the..." She jumped again as Nia suddenly teleported behind her, peering over her shoulder at the screen.

Simon made his way over to them. Cibela was scrolling through pages of complex diagrams as Nia looked them over intently.

"You understand all that?" he asked.

Nia nodded, not taking her eyes off the screen.

He couldn't make heads or tails of it himself. Though, come to think of it, those symbols _did_ look similar to the lines on Nia's body. But it was astounding to think that she had this much knowledge infused in her mind when until just recently, she didn't even know what a kiss was.

"Do you think you'll be able to control all of it?"

She looked up at him. "I _am_ the Anti-Spiral Messenger." For the first time, she didn't say it in a monotone. Instead, there was almost a hint of pride in her voice.

On one hand, he didn't want to benefit from her non-human qualities— she'd acquired them at the cost of her freedom. But if she _wanted_ to use them...

"Can you see in the dark?" he asked.

Nia nodded. He turned to look at Boota.

His friend smirked. "I'm a pigmole. Darkness is my natural element."

And Simon knew that he could use his Spiral Power to strengthen his senses. "This could work." He put a hand on Nia's shoulder. "We have a plan."

 

* * *

  

They began preparing at once. Boota found a bag and collected all the food stores and medical supplies that could be found in the room. The hostages meanwhile seemed to understand that they were planning something and kept their mouths shut. Nia memorized as much of the ship map and circuit diagrams as she could. Simon consulted the doctors; they did not recommend walking about at any length yet, so he ignored them and gulped down more pain killers.

They went over the plan again, outlining alternate routes on the map that they could take if necessary. Simon made sure to put in extra caution. "There won't be much time before they realize what we're doing. We need to do this quickly, without any mistakes." They were definitely not strangers to reckless plans with low possibility of success, but this was on a much smaller scale than usual. Battleships and mecha could continue functioning with a little damage, but flesh-and-blood bodies were of a different matter.

When they were ready, Simon addressed everyone in the room. "In a moment, the three of us will be leaving. We hope to do this without hurting anybody. I want you all to let everyone else know that they don't have to worry about me being the captain anymore. Whatever happens, this will probably be the last that you'll see of any of us." He took a breath and then added, "Good luck."

The room became silent.

Nia went to stand by an access panel on the wall. Boota shouldered the bag of supplies and stood waiting by the door. Simon nodded to them, and went to the computer where Cibela sat. "Do it."

"Yes, sir," she said, and started typing in the command to shut down the Super Spiral Engine. But just before hitting the last key, she hesitated. "Um. Captain."

"What?" he asked impatiently.

Cibela glanced back at him. "I...I was part of the mutiny. And um." She pushed up her glasses nervously. "I'm sorry."

He stared.

"If I knew that you were, um..." Her gaze went to rest on Nia. "...I might have thought differently."

Simon didn't know what to say. Couldn't understand. What could she have seen in the past few days that made her change her mind?

...He didn't have time for this.

He gave her a short, awkward nod. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

She finished the command.

In a moment, the lights flickered and died. They heard muffled voices of surprise from outside the door. Then the back-up generator kicked in, and the lights returned.

Now was the time.

Nia closed her eyes and laid her hands on the access panel. "I suggest no one touches me while I am doing this," she warned. Seconds later, they learned why.

Sparks flew between her fingers. Her brow creased in concentration, and the lines on her body glimmered as electricity pulsed and flowed through her.

The lights flickered again and went out completely, plunging the ship into a pitch black night. Only the fluorescent pink lines of Nia's body and the green iris of Simon's left eye glowed in the darkness.

Nia moved to the door, and with one touch of her hand, it slid open. Out in the hall, people were shouting and stumbling, blind and terrified.

Without a moment to lose, they left the room and raced down the hall in silence, weaving through the people in their way. There were cries as they passed, but they might as well have been ghosts; they could not be caught.

They made it to the nearest elevator easily enough. Inside, Nia put her hand against the panel, and they ascended. So far so good.

The situation was the same on the upper levels. They made it to the captain's quarters in barely any time. Simon quickly marched in, found Kamina's sword lying on the desk, grasped it—

And that was when the lights came back on.

Nia had a look of surprise on her face. "I didn't..."

"The Spiral Engine is back on. They must have realized already," Boota gasped.

It was much faster than they expected. Almost immediately, they heard footsteps in the hall heading in their direction. "They went that way!"

"Shit!" Boota slammed his palm on the door panel, closing it just as some familiar faces came into view. They heard pounding on the door a second later.

"We know you're in there!" Kidd's voice called. "You won't get away this time!"

They were trapped.

A cold sweat ran down Simon's back. His grip tightened on the sword. If he got either of them killed because of this, he would never forgive himself.

"We want to leave in peace!" he shouted through the door. "Let us go now and I promise no one will be hurt!"

"Hey, did you hear that, guys? The captain's alive after all!" Kidd sniggered.

Boota shook his head. "It's no use. I think he's out for blood."

Simon gritted his teeth. "Guess there's no choice." He unsheathed the sword. "We'll _fight_ our way out."

Then they heard Kittan's voice. "Outta the way!" The heavy double-click of a gun being loaded. Then BAM! A large hole exploded in the door.

Boota cringed. "He brought his shotgun?!"

They quickly stepped back out of range.

"Wait." Nia turned to Simon and put her hand on the blade of the sword, lowering it. "I can keep them busy."

"What? No!"

Another blast through the door.

"I'll be all right. I won't take too many risks."

" _Too many?!_ "

Yet another blast. The hole in the door was now large enough for the barrel of the shotgun to fit through.

"You know how hard I am to catch." She smiled at him. "I'll meet you in the hangar."

"No!" But it was too late. She'd disappeared.

Suddenly there was screaming in the hall. The shotgun jolted and was pulled out of the door. There was a gunshot, and streaks of electricity could be seen through the hole.

Simon quickly sheathed the sword, opened the door, and jumped out into the hall.

"Nia!" he called.

He saw her just as she'd finished throwing Kittan against a wall with her electricity. The others lay on the floor around her groaning. There was shouting from up ahead as more people ran toward the noise.

She turned slightly, sparks still flying from her fingertips. The cool demeanor of the Anti-Spiral Messenger had returned. Looking at him, her lips formed a single word: "Go."

An arm wrapped around his chest. Before he could protest, Boota was dragging him down the hall.

"NIA!"

 

* * *

  

Boota only let Simon go once they were both back in the elevator. After that, they had some time to rest; it would take at least ten minutes for the elevator to go from the upper levels down to the hangar.

WHAM! Simon's fist met the wall of the elevator, leaving a dent. He continued punching the wall until he winced from the vibrations, and fell back against it, clutching the side of his face in pain. "Goddammit..." he hissed through his teeth.

He fell silent afterward, expression filled with self-loathing.

Boota sighed. "You seem to be under the impression that _you're_ the one protecting _us_ in this situation. Let me remind you who the injured one is here."

"I'm not an invalid!" Simon snapped.

Boota couldn't help raising his voice too. "You nearly _died_. And you're still on the mend. Believe me, if it means getting you out of here in one piece, we'll do whatever it takes. So do us a favor and save your strength for when you really need it."

A look of recognition crossed Simon's face. Of course it would sound familiar. Simon had said something similar ten years ago, just a day before Kamina was killed. Having his own words thrown back at him, there was no way he couldn't understand their feelings now.

Simon slid down to the floor in defeat. "You little bastard."

"I'm not little anymore, remember?"

The side of his mouth quirked up. "When did you two become so friendly anyway?"

"We came to a mutual understanding."

They prepared for an ambush for when they arrived, and they were right in expecting one, but Nia had apparently already taken care of it for them. When the elevator doors opened, they found the air buzzing with electricity, and people strewn across the floor unconscious. The way was clear.

Then they heard some loud static, followed by a voice.

"Please do not be alarmed. We do not mean you any harm. We wish only to leave this ship in peace. Please stay in your rooms until..."

They looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Nia had hacked into the communication channel.

As they headed down the corridor, they saw that up ahead, the giant steel door to the hangar was lowering, just about to close. Boota sprinted forward, getting there just in time to get his hands under the edge. Crouching, he put all his strength and Spiral Power into pulling it back up. The door groaned. The metal under his fingers began to bend.

Simon set down the sword to lend a hand.

"I _said_...I'll take care of it...!" Boota grunted, trying to push him away, but couldn't afford to let go of the door.

"Shut up, I'm helping."

They pulled it up together.

Panting and muscles aching, they stumbled into the hangar at last, only to stop in their tracks when they found Leite standing in their way, hands in the pockets of her coat and cigarette in her mouth. The other mechanics milled about behind her.

Simon brandished the sword, and Boota took a fighting stance. But Leite simply plucked the cigarette from her lips and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"You came this far," she said calmly. "Go ahead."

They blinked. The mechanics spread out to make a path for them.

"Th...thanks."

They walked the rest of the way to Gurren-Lagann. Boota went into Gurren to store the bag, and found the cockpit already packed with maintenance tools. He glanced back at Leite, surprised.

Simon stood at Gurren-Lagann's feet, not moving. Boota called down to him, but Simon replied, "She said she would meet us here."

He waited patiently at first, but as minutes passed, he began pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists.

They heard Leite muster the mechanics to get back to work, in effect ignoring them. Nia still didn't come.

"Something's wrong. I'm gonna—"

Just as Simon started toward the door again, Nia appeared beside him, causing him to nearly trip over his feet. She tilted her head at him, bemused. He heaved a big sigh of relief. "Let's go."

 

* * *

  

Simon climbed up to the platform just above Gurren-Lagann's head with Nia right behind him. The hatch to Lagann's cockpit opened beneath him. He jumped down to stand on the side of the hatch, then turned to help Nia...

She seemed distracted. She was looking toward the door, and a murmur fell from her lips. "Goodbye, Father..."

"Nia?"

She shook her head and turned back to him again.

He extended his hand to her.

She hesitated. As if asking, _Who, me?_

He smiled. _Yes, you._

She took his hand gently.

He noticed how light she was; she practically floated to his side.

Simon dropped down into the cockpit.

Nia followed shortly, sitting on his lap.

This felt right somehow. He decided to take a moment to appreciate it.

Nia peered into his face curiously. It was nice having her this close.

"Ready yet?" asked Boota from Gurren's cockpit.

Simon cleared his throat. "Yeah." He took the Core Drill from around his neck, inserted it into the monitor, and twisted. The cockpit lit up with power. He put his hands on the controls. The hatch closed.

In the hangar, no one appeared to be getting ready to give chase. Maybe because they knew they couldn't take him on in Gurren-Lagann. Or maybe Leite was just eager for him to be out of there with no trouble.

Thanks to that, they had some time to figure out where to go. Out in space, they steered Gurren-Lagann to stand on the hull of the ship. Boota accessed the computer and singled out a list of life-supporting planets, which Nia looked through to pick out the ones not currently watched by the Anti-Spirals.

Halfway through, they heard some sort of signal.

"What's that?" Simon asked.

"It looks like a message..." Boota opened it. "It was sent from another Spiral race...just a day after we defeated the Wuxglavans."

"Hate mail?" He wasn't interested.

"This is where it came from..."

Information and a visual of a blue-green planet popped up on the screen.

Nia gasped. "This planet..."

Simon recognized it too. It was one of the many planets they had destroyed the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems of half a year ago.

Boota played the message. Unexpectedly, it was not in a garbled foreign language, but instead their own, albeit stilted and awkwardly spoken.

"Greetings, Oh Great Destroyer. We of the Kumpu Tribe have been witness to your great feats of power and welcome you heartily to our planet-sphere! We hope you would not be reluctant to visit us, for we would delight to discuss with you matters of importance and treat you to our most generous hospitality."

"...What the hell?"

"They're welcoming us?" Boota scoffed. "I don't believe it. It has to be a trap."

"The Anti-Spiral Messenger of this planet awakened just days before their Spiral Life-Form Annihilation System was destroyed," Nia said.

"So maybe they're genuinely grateful? We saved them right after it was activated."

"But there could still be an Anti-Spiral presence on the planet. At least, there was when..." She stopped mid-sentence. A shiver ran through her body.

"What's wrong?"

"...They're coming."

"What?"

Suddenly, dozens of warp holes appeared in space, and massive Anti-Spiral battleships dropped down all around them.

"Oh, fuck."

Space erupted with a barrage of missiles and beams. They were nearly blown off the side of the ship with the first impact. Simon produced drills from Gurren-Lagann's hands and dug into the hull, keeping them secured.

The ship's shields appeared right before the second volley. At least someone was still working on the bridge.

"Always the best damn timing!" Simon griped. He could barely hear himself over the noise.

"What do we do?" Nia asked.

"We warp, that's what!"

"You don't mean..." Boota started.

"Exactly! Trap or not, we have to go somewhere! NOW!" He locked onto the planet's coordinates.

"They see us!" cried Nia.

As she said that, all the eyes of the Anti-Spiral ships looked in their direction. All of a sudden, every beam was directed at the spot right above them. There was an enormous clash as they met the force field. Strong as the shield was, it couldn't hold under such a concentrated barrage for long.

At the same time, the warp sequence was initiated. Spiral Power unfolded before them like a twisting green ribbon.

The force field began to tear.

"Dammit, we're gonna make it!" Simon shouted. "WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!"

Gurren-Lagann charged straight toward the warp hole and the dissolving force field. The beams made it through and came shooting at them head-on. The tip of the mecha's helmet made it into the portal. There was a flash of light.

They were gone.


	12. Destiny (Part 1)

They came out from the warp in a burst of green light. Facing them now was a blue planet, with green continents and swirling white clouds. As the warp hole closed behind them, they were met with a deafening silence.

As much as she was used to teleporting, the abrupt change in setting took Nia's breath away. But before she could acclimate, Simon doubled over, gasping.

"Simon?!"

He struggled to catch his breath, covered in sweat. "That's weird...I don't think I used _that_ much power..."

Boota's face appeared on the screen. "You must have exerted yourself too much with that last spurt."

"Just by warping?"

"Your power is already being diverted to your healing," Nia explained.

"So that's what it's been doing, eh?" Simon said with a wry smile.

"Rest for a while," said Boota. "I'll check up on the planet."

"Right." Simon let go of the controls and sat back, closing his eye.

They continued floating along in space for a few minutes. Steadily, Simon's Spiral Power began to stabilize.

The hair and bandages on his brow were soaked. Nia reached up to brush his bangs from his face. As her fingers touched his forehead, he muttered something.

"Sometimes I don't feel like this body even belongs to me anymore."

It was said under his breath, but they were so close together that he might as well have whispered it in her ear. Nia felt like she was being privy to his thoughts. Another rare moment of vulnerability.

But the next moment, he was looking her in the eyes with an apologetic smile.

"Guess I shouldn't be the one complaining."

She shook her head. "You have every right."

"Maybe." He didn't seem to agree.

Nia decided not to argue about it now. She sighed, folding her hands in her lap. "That ship...what do you suppose happened to it?"

"I don't know. It's not my problem anymore." His expression soured.

Just then, Boota spoke up again. "Simon. We're getting another message. Same source."

"All right, let's hear it."

The message was spoken by the same voice as before, but this time its tone was over-excited.

"W-welcome, Great Destroyer, to our humble planet-sphere! We have been awaiting your arrival with great anticipation! We were much afraid that our message had not reached you..."

"Yeah, yeah. Who are you people? Why do you know our language?"

"We are the Kumpu Tribe, a great and mighty Spiral Race that once fought with your people of the Earth in the wars of the past. My name is Kopoko Naku. I am the Royal Interpreter of our kingdom, descendant of the first Royal Interpreter appointed hundreds of years past to record and study languages of the galaxy in preparation for this day."

"This day?"

"Since our defeat, our people have long been waiting for the return of the Spiral Knight, successor of Lord Genome, who would return to fight the great enemy."

"Not this shit again," Simon said under his breath. "Look, aren't you one of the planets that I destroyed the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems for? Are you angry about that? Because other people sure are."

"Oh, no! That was our long-awaited sign! When the heavens shook and star rocks plummeted to our land in streaks of hot fire, we knew that the age of warriors had returned at last! What a glorious day!"

The side of Simon's mouth quirked up. "Okay. Then what do you want with me?"

"We would very much like to discuss that with you face-to-face, Great Destroyer. It would be very inconvenient for our conversations to be picked up by others. Please, come down to our lands."

"How do we know this isn't a trap? There are a lot of people after my neck, you know."

"We would not trick you, very honestly! We are not allied with anyone, most especially anyone who would mean you harm!"

"And you expect us to just take your word for it?"

"...Yes, unfortunately. We have no proof."

Simon looked amused. "'Very honestly' indeed."

"You believe them?" Boota asked.

Simon shrugged. "It's just a hunch. I think they would have come up with something better if they were laying a trap."

Nia spoke up. "What about the Anti-Spirals? Are you still being watched by them?"

"We receive daily attacks by the faceless enemies in our cities, but after the destruction of the Annihilation System, we do not feel threatened anymore. Just days ago, we achieved a great victory in defeating their Messenger."

This took her by surprise. They succeeded in destroying their Anti-Spiral Messenger? With no Messenger or Spiral Life-Form Annihilation System, that meant the Anti-Spirals were attacking them blindly now. Normally this would only lead to them increasing their focus on the particular race, but perhaps they were too distracted at the moment. There was still the danger of Simon being discovered, but as long as he didn't use much Spiral Power...

"What do you think?" Simon asked her.

"I...I suppose that, for the moment, it could be relatively safe..."

He nodded, and turned back to the screen. "So how long will you allow us to stay?"

"As long as you would like! It would be an honor to have you among us."

"How kind of you. Then I think I'll accept."

"Wonderful! Our king looks forward to meeting with you at our capital city—"

Simon turned off the message.

Nia looked at him.

He smirked. "It was nice of them to invite us and all. Doesn't mean I want to talk to them." He looked around and picked a random peninsula on the planet. "There. That place looks pretty remote."

Closer up, the planet appeared to be covered mostly in jungle. They landed on the beach of the peninsula, with white sands and turquoise ocean. The first thing they noticed when they stepped out was the heat and humidity in the air. Boota immediately stripped out of his shirt, the fur on his body already slick with perspiration. Simon also took off his coat, opting to just let it hang from his shoulders.

As Simon and Nia took refuge from the sun in Gurren-Lagann's shadow, Boota went to sniff around the outskirts of the jungle. He came back a while later.

"We should look for fresh water."

"Good idea. Let's go." Simon stood up, brushing the sand from his clothes.

Boota frowned. "You should rest."

"You're right. That's why I'll leave all the work clearing the path to you." Simon handed over his sword with a small grin. "Lead the way, pigmole friend."

Boota's frown deepened.

They left Gurren-Lagann crouching under some trees, hiding it as much as a hulking bright red mecha _could_ be hidden, and set off.

It was slightly darker under the jungle canopy, but no less humid. The screeches and calls of alien creatures echoed from the treetops. As they made their way through the thick undergrowth, a light blue mist wafted around their feet, and translucent, long-bodied winged insects drifted lazily around their heads.

Nia looked around, turning her head constantly to take in the new sights. She couldn't recall ever being in a place like this before, even on Earth. But somehow...it also felt familiar. As if she had been here before, seen these trees and heard these sounds and breathed this air, without having set foot here physically.

"You're going to walk into something."

"Huh?" She had been staring straight upwards for a while, and now she lowered her gaze to find that she had fallen behind.

Up ahead, Simon was looking back at her. "Something wrong?" he asked.

She blinked hard, slightly disoriented. "I feel strange. Like I've been here before...but I could swear that I haven't."

"Deja vu?"

"Huh?"

"I think that's what it's called."

So there was a word for it. Perhaps that meant it wasn't an uncommon occurrence....

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Should we be worried?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. It's gone now." She caught up to him.

Eventually, they heard the sound of running water, which they followed until they found a waterfall, with a pool of clear water below it. While Simon and Boota took some drinks, Nia sat on one of the large rocks overlooking the pool, enjoying the view and the cool spray from the waterfall.

Presently Simon came to join her on the rock to rest, but Boota continued wandering around. Minutes later, they heard him call.

"Hey, Simon! Catch!"

Simon turned just in time for the thrown object to clonk him right on the head.

"Fffffffffffff _FUUUCK!!_ "

Startled by the noise, a flock of winged creatures took flight from the surrounding trees.

Boota rushed over at once, aghast. Simon continued cursing, clutching his head, while Nia worried over him.

"Are you okay?!"

"Rrrrrrrgh."

"I-I didn't mean...I thought..."

"...I can't _see_ from that side, you idiot!" Simon growled suddenly, and shoved Boota into the water.

The pigmole surfaced completely drenched. "I forgot."

"What the hell did you throw at me anyway?" Still wincing, Simon picked up the hard round yellow object and turned it around in his hand.

Boota pulled himself out of the water. "It was lying on the ground. I think it might be some kind of fruit."

"So it's edible?"

"Maybe?"

"Whatever. I'll eat anything."

"I'll go look for more."

Dripping and bedraggled, Boota went to scout around again.

Simon sighed, handing the fruit to Nia. "Nia, here. You're hungry, right?"

She looked at the fruit in her hands and shook her head. "No."

"Yeah, I'm starving.....wait, what?" He stared at her.

"I'm not hungry," she said simply, and passed the fruit back to him.

He seemed confused at first, but then a look of realization crossed his face. "...Oh."

Boota returned shortly with an armful of the yellow fruit, and he and Simon got to cracking them open on the rock. A strong-smelling yellow juice seeped out from the shells, but this did not deter them. As the two began to (rather messily) tuck in to the fruit, Nia observed in quiet fascination. This was a side of Simon she hadn't seen yet.

They tossed the empty shells on the ground when they were done. Some minutes later, Nia noticed a small, six-legged furry creature drop down from a tree and approach one of the shells. As she watched, the creature took the shell in its paws and nibbled on the inside...only to promptly keel over and die.

Nia looked over at Simon and Boota. They were licking their fingers, having just finished the last fruit.

"Um. Simon."

"Hm?"

She pointed at the dead critter.

Simon and Boota exchanged a glance.

The two went over to examine it. After poking it to make sure it was dead, Simon picked the creature up by one of its legs and dangled it in Boota's face. "Hey, let's try this too."

Hours later, they were still as energetic as ever.

 

* * *

  

Appetites sated, and with nowhere else to go, they decided to stay by the waterfall for a while longer.

Boota snoozed on the rock, taking a well-deserved break. His snores mingled with the calls of wildlife and sound of rushing water, and all together, the noise was simultaneously raucous and soothing.

Simon was down by the water, trying to clean the dried blood from his coat. As a particularly loud snore tore through the air, he glanced up at his friend fondly. "He always did like to sleep."

Sitting in the pool a short distance away, the water up to her shoulders, Nia paused from washing her hair to look at him. "How long have you known each other?" she asked.

"For me, since I was a kid. For him, nearly his entire life."

He went on to tell her about how they first met. How, shortly before the earthquake that would take their lives, his parents had brought home a baby pigmole; a little runt with no hope of survival.

"But he did survive, obviously. He was so small though. And he never seemed to grow up. Until we got into space, anyway...then he suddenly had a _huge_ growth spurt. Turns out his body was saving all of it, turning it into evolutionary energy, or whatever it's called."

He thought back to the day Boota transformed, suddenly feeling nostalgic.

"It's funny...the first words to come out of his mouth were 'Let me help.' With all the time spent building up to that, you'd think he could have come up with something better to say."

It was hard to believe that it had only been a few years ago...

When he looked up, he found Nia wearing a gentle smile on her face. "So he is another important person to you, like Bro?"

"To put it simply...yeah."

She nodded. "But I noticed that you act differently with him than you do with me."

"Well, of course. It's natural to act differently with different people. I'm not going to kiss him or stick dead things in your face." This conversation was quickly turning very strange...

Nia seemed to think over it. "You're right. I act differently with you than I did with my father or the old man."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Nia."

"And I like how you act with me, so it's all right." She continued running her fingers through her hair. "Do you...act this way with anyone else?"

He unwittingly thought back to Yoko. That...had been different. Yes, very different. "No. You're the only one."

She looked happy and relieved.

Soon after, Simon got tired of scrubbing the fabric, and decided to just let the coat soak for a while. Nia seemed to be having better luck getting the blood out of her hair.

He watched her dunk her head under the water a few times, surfacing with a gasp, then checking her reflection in the water to see how much was left. At last, she stood up and began wringing the water out of her long hair.

He knew he was staring at this point, but given the situation, he couldn't help it. After all, how could any man not take a moment to appreciate the sight of her with hair clinging to her body, trailing drops of water down her skin, the wet sheen highlighting her black curves, water lapping around her thighs...

Just how was it possible for someone to be so naturally sexy without even being aware of it?

Gulping, Simon quickly began assessing the pros and cons of acting on his impulses right there.

(Wouldn't this be a poor choice of location, with Boota sleeping right behind them? In his present condition, wasn't there a good chance that it would cause him blinding pain as much as pleasure? How would she react? How much did she even know? Was it too much to hope that the Anti-Spiral information network provided sex education? Would he have to explain the whole thing to her beforehand?)

He groaned. Dammit. He needed a distraction.

Simon dragged over the supply bag and rummaged through it until he found the medical supplies. Right. He should probably change these bandages.

He began undoing them from around his head, unwinding layer after layer. He held his breath as he gingerly peeled off the last bandage from his wound, then looked at the pile in his lap.

God, what a mess.

He was a little light-headed now, but the morbidly curious part of him still itched to see whether it looked as bad as it felt. He leaned over the water and peered down at his reflection.

...Well damn. That sure killed his libido quickly.

Just then he heard Nia striding through the water, moving in his direction. Simon straightened up and reflexively covered the wound with his hand.

She stopped in front of him, close enough that he could see the droplets of water still clinging to her eyelashes.

"Would you like some help?" she asked.

"Uh, I don't know about that. It's not a pretty sight."

"I've seen it more than you have," she said matter-of-factly. "The doctors already showed me how to do it while you were asleep."

"Oh."

If it were any other part of his body, he would only be too glad to let her bandage it up for him. However, when it came to a gaping hole where his eye used to be... Not that he didn't trust her, but that spot was pretty sensitive.

Though, he had to admit, she would probably do a far better job than he would.

He gave her a smile, trying to hide his nervousness. "Okay, let's do it."

Nia picked up the roll of new bandages. Slowly, he lowered his hand from his face.

A sad look entered her eyes then. She probably didn't mean it, but still, he couldn't stand seeing her like that. Not when he was the cause. He might have even preferred a look of disgust. He decided to keep his eye closed for the duration.

Soon he felt her fingers on his face as she began putting on the first layer of bandages. He stayed very still. Gently, she unrolled the bandages around his head, keeping it taut but not applying too much pressure. He felt a little impressed. For all he knew, she was a master at this.

Finally, she tied off the end of it. He opened his eye in time to catch her letting out a long-held breath. So, she had been nervous too.

"Thanks."

She nodded.

He bundled up the dirty bandages, wondering what he should do with them. Throw them away? Burn them? For the moment, he just set them aside. When he turned back, Nia was still standing there with her brows knitted together.

"What is it?"

Startled out of her thoughts, she hesitated before voicing them.

"Do you...regret it? Losing your eye?"

The question made him chuckle. He couldn't imagine anyone else asking him that. The answer was pretty obvious. Who the hell wouldn't regret losing an eye? But in her case, he knew she was just expressing concern.

"Yeah. One less eye to look at you with."

Nia's cheeks flushed pink. She looked embarrassed. Maybe it was a lame line, but it's not like he was trying to sound cool this time. He was just speaking honestly. In any case, this was much better than seeing her look sad.

They went back to sit on the rock with Boota. Simon lay back, holding his hand up to shield his eye from the sunlight filtering through the trees.

Strange how at this moment, things felt so...peaceful. No expectations, no responsibility... Just lying around with a girl and a friend. Maybe he could get used to this.

But it was only a temporary illusion, he realized. Eventually they would be discovered, either by the Anti-Spirals or another Spiral race. Eventually they would have to leave this place and search for a new planet to hide out on. Again and again for the rest of their lives. Peaceful moments like this would only come interspersed between narrow escapes.

He felt tired just thinking about it. Of course, it wasn't much different from life on board the Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren, but at least then he was able to fight back. Now, he was more helpless than ever.

Sighing, he glanced over at Nia sitting next to him, an adorable frown on her face as she tried in vain to untangle a knot in her hair.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd seen her planet-side since he fought against the Mugann on Earth. Looking at her now, it was hard to imagine that this was the same person. She had changed so much...

He thought back to those trite, impossible fantasies he'd had when he visited the colony. In hindsight, he found it funny that he was even capable of dreaming such things, they were so out of reach. Even more so now.

 _"We'll find another way."_ How? How could he keep his promise to her now? And even if he did, would it be worth it when they were constantly in danger anyway?

Just as he began wishing he could put these thoughts out of his head, something caught his attention. He sat up.

He stared through the trees. From among all the sounds surrounding him, his ears singled out one specific noise, growing louder with every passing second.

Nia blinked at him curiously. "Simon, what—"

He motioned for her to be quiet. Without a word, he gripped Kamina's sword in one hand and used the other to shake Boota awake.

Something was coming.

 

* * *

  

Minutes later, a vehicle appeared. It somewhat resembled a Gunspinner (at least, it hovered and had a face), though it seemed to be designed to operate specifically in jungle terrain, with sharp whirling blades at its front and sides to cut through vegetation.

It had been traveling along the stream, and when it arrived at the waterfall, it came to a stop. The blades were tucked back into the sides of the vehicle, and the flight spheres were turned off, bringing it to a gentle touchdown.

The three of them, hiding behind a large bush on the other side of the clearing, watched as the door to the vehicle opened, and out stepped their first look at this planet's Spiral race.

They were of course bipedal, and mostly hairless except for the thick whiskers sprouting from their faces (though some of them appeared to have had theirs shaved off). They all had beady eyes, stubby noses, and floppy ears; they looked almost cute.

All but one wore grey uniforms. This one, wearing white robes, seemed to be the leader. He was looking at a small device in his hand, and ordering the others around in an alien language.

As the Kumpus in grey uniforms began searching the area, Boota took note that they carried what looked like handguns at their sides. A few of them quickly found the path of cleared vegetation that Boota had made and called their leader over. A couple others searched around the waterfall, and began dragging something out of the water.

Simon clicked his tongue. The coat had been discovered.

They had forgotten about it in their rush to hide, so it had been left in the water, weighted down with a rock.

The coat was shown to the leader, who then gave another order. The grey uniforms spread out and started combing through the undergrowth around the clearing.

It was only a matter of time before they would be found.

Boota looked to Simon and their eyes met. They both nodded.

Simon turned to Nia and pointed to the ground while mouthing to her silently: "Stay here." Then he called out through the bush. "Hey!"

That caught the Kumpus' attention. They stopped searching and gathered together, eyes scanning their surroundings. They did not attempt to draw their weapons; an encouraging sign.

Boota felt Simon's hand on his shoulder. With that signal, they both stood up and stepped into the clearing.

"Looking for us?" Simon asked.

"Ah, it is you!" The leader hurried over. Up close, his head only came up to their shoulders in terms of height. "Yes, we have been searching! I apologize, something must have interfered with our signal for it to have cut off so suddenly! It is no wonder you did not know where to go."

"Are you whatshisname...the one we talked to earlier?"

"Indeed! I am Kopoko Naku! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

Kopoko bowed, and the others followed suit.

"I hope you were not too inconvenienced. How embarrassing, for you to have arrived on such an uncivilized part of our world. Our cities are much more advanced, I assure you."

"It's fine. It's a beautiful place," Simon said, sounding more bothered than appreciative. He clearly felt disappointed that they were found so quickly.

"How did you find us?" Boota asked.

Kopoko blinked at him, as if only just noticing his presence. "This is...?"

"Boota. He's not human, but he's also from Earth and a good friend."

"Ah. Well, you see here..." Kopoko showed them his hand-held device. "I was tracking your Spiral Power signature! You were quite easy to find once we identified your general vicinity."

"Great."

"Yes, indeed!" Kopoko beamed at them.

Seeing Simon's displeased expression, Boota decided to ask in his place. "Listen. Kopoko Naku. We appreciate you letting us stay on your planet. It's very refreshing to come across such hospitality in the galaxy these days. However, is there any chance that you could just...leave us alone?"

Kopoko blinked. "But we've only just found you! And we still have _so_ much to talk about! But no need to rush! You have come such a long way! Let us treat you to our highest luxuries at our capital city--"

"No, it's _fine_ ," Simon said, a little more forcefully. Then he pointed at his coat, which was still being held by the Kumpus. "I'd like that back, by the way."

"Of course, of course! If you would like, we could dry it for you! We can also offer refreshments! You must not know which foods here are safe to eat! We can prepare something right away!"

Before they could protest, Kopoko turned to the others and issued orders. The Kumpus in grey uniforms immediately began scurrying around busily.

Simon heaved an exasperated sigh.

Boota understood how he felt. So far, the Kumpus weren't the most welcoming Spiral race they had come across (there was the Erlithians), but they were certainly the most annoying (the Erlithians at least knew how to keep their distance).

Within minutes, the Kumpus were scattered about the area, drawing water, digging for roots, picking vegetation. Kopoko seemed to be giving instructions to one of them now. As they watched, he pointed at a tree behind them, which bore dark red pods in its upper branches. The Kumpu hurried over to the tree and began climbing.

That was when they realized that the tree overlooked the bush Nia was hiding behind.

"Wait!" Simon shouted.

Too late. There was a rustle. The Kumpu screamed and dropped to the ground, hastily drawing its gun.

"Don't shoot!"

For a split second, they saw Nia standing up, then she disappeared just as the Kumpu pulled the trigger. The fired beam of energy hit a tree and sizzled.

Unsettled, the other Kumpus in the clearing drew their guns as well.

Simon grabbed Kopoko by the hem of his robes. "Tell them not to shoot!"

"Th-that was an Anti-Spiral Messenger!" Kopoko exclaimed, looking shocked.

"I know that!" Simon snapped. "Make them stand down!"

Though looking uncertain, Kopoko did as he was told. The Kumpus slowly lowered their weapons.

Simon looked around. "Nia?" he called. "NIA?"

"I'm here." She appeared beside him, unharmed.

The Kumpus all gasped. Simon quickly put a protective arm around her.

"This Messenger...she is of your race?" Kopoko asked, staring.

"Yeah. And she's with me now."

Taking in the sight of them, with Nia hitched to Simon's side and his arm wound around her, Kopoko gradually seemed to put two and two together.

"You...you have managed to seduce one of them?!" Eyes shining with reverence, he at once began speaking to the other Kumpus. They all chattered excitedly among each other.

Puzzled, Nia asked, "What does 'seduce' mean?"

Simon looked away and didn't answer.

Kopoko turned back. "This is a wonderful development! We should have expected no less from you, Great Destroyer! Are there any others?!"

"N...no. I don't plan on...seducing...any more Messengers."

In spite of himself, Boota couldn't help but smirk at Simon's discomfort. He felt an elbow jab his ribs a moment later.

"Ah, what a shame! Then I suppose we will have to deal with the rest of them in the usual way."

"Usual way?" Nia asked, sounding apprehensive.

Kopoko pressed some buttons on his hand-held device. A video was projected in the air before them. They saw what looked like a dark cityscape, with Mugann wreaking havoc among towering skyscrapers. It looked very reminiscent of the attacks back in Kamina City.

"He is right here, if you would see." Kopoko pointed at a spot in the dark skyline, and it was magnified to show a Kumpu hovering in the air, its eyes glowing and body covered in the same red lines as Nia's. It seemed to be directing the Mugann's movements.

Suddenly, beams of light were fired from somewhere down below. They merely bounced off the energy field surrounding it, and the Messenger sent a Mugann to take care of the beams...a momentary distraction. Next, just as suddenly, a beam was fired from the roof of a nearby building, and this one did manage to penetrate the energy field, spearing the Messenger right through its chest.

Within seconds, the Messenger's body shattered into a million colorful blocks of energy, which then exploded one by one, erupting into an inferno in the night sky.

The Kumpus around them broke into cheers.

"Ah, what an achievement! We have been celebrating for days!" Kopoko said proudly. "Of course, we were lucky that our Messenger was born a plebian and thus did not know many of our secrets. We have been very careful not to let any information slip to the Anti-Spirals..."

It was then that Kopoko noticed their reaction to the video.

Both Simon and Nia looked fairly shaken. Nia's face paled as she watched the falling embers, and Simon's grip tightened around her waist. Boota couldn't blame them; though they had seen many Mugann be destroyed in the past, seeing a living, organic body destroyed in the same manner was unnerving. It seemed a horrible way to die. It was especially chilling to think that, if things had turned out differently, it could have been Nia in that very situation.

Realizing, too late, that showing them this had been a bad idea, Kopoko hurriedly turned the projection off.

"B-but rest assured, we will not harm your Messenger!" he reassured them. "If she has joined your side, then I will make sure her safety is guaranteed!"

Then, as if hoping to take their mind off of what they had just seen, Kopoko began shouting orders again. The Kumpus resumed their chores.

It began raining a short while later, and the Kumpus set up an awning. Kopoko, through sheer relentless persistence, convinced the three of them to stay and sit with him beneath it.

"Please, go on and try some!" he said, as some handmade snacks were set in front of them on top of large leaves. "We made them quite hastily, but aha, I hope you will enjoy?"

Simon looked unamused. Amid the stern silence that followed, Boota reached out to try one of the snacks. There was some loud crunching.

"So what do you want with me?" Simon asked at last.

"How glad I am you asked! Once you have come to our capital city and met our king, then we would be pleased to discuss--"

"No. I'm not going to any city. You can tell us here and now." Simon had lost his patience.

"...Very well." Kopoko stroked his whiskers thoughtfully before continuing. "We would like for you to lead us."

Simon's face twitched. "You can't be serious."

"We are very serious! We have seen your exploits, and there is no one we would like better to lead our campaign through the stars!"

"You...but...that's..." Simon began cackling; a high, hysterical laugh that robbed him of intelligible speech.

Kopoko looked confused.

Boota had to explain. "His previous crew tried to kill him a few days ago. We just escaped from the ship."

"How horrible!" Kopoko gasped. "I promise, we will never think to do such a thing!"

"That's not really the problem here..."

"You don't want me," said Simon, suddenly serious. "I would just ruin everything."

But Kopoko didn't seem worried. "But sir, that is exactly the reason why we do want you!"

"...What?"

"You of course first caught our attention when you destroyed our Spiral Life-Form Annihilation System. Since then we have been watching you in great eagerness to see if you fulfilled our expectations. And indeed, you have! The power and ruthlessness you show in battle, the scale of devastation you leave in your wake...it is a work of art! And when you declared you would destroy the universe, we were absolutely sure: you are the Great Destroyer, the champion spoken of in legend for thousands of years among our people.

"After all, what greater beauty is there than destruction? The moment of death is the peak of life, the climax of existence! The Spiral Nemesis is not something to be feared— it should be welcomed! If we would all embrace the glory of destruction, and revel in its majesty..."

As the roar of the waterfall increased in volume with the added rainfall, Kopoko raised his voice to be heard, enraptured by his own speech.

"Lord Genome was such a disappointment. He had so much potential, and yet in the end he still subscribed to the Anti-Spiral philosophies. But he was wrong! He feared us, he feared the Spiral Nemesis, and all he could do to ease that fear was to cut us down. How foolish. If only we could have worked together, the end of the universe could well have been within reach back then...

"However, it is fortunate for us now, for it is _we_ who will witness the universe's moment of glory. We will be the last, and greatest, generation. As a Spiral Knight of your caliber, we believe it is your destiny to help us achieve this!"

Kopoko took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "So, will you agree to lead us, Great Destroyer?"

Simon could only stare, his mouth hanging open a little. The three of them were completely speechless.

"...Very well. Then I will go contact our king while I leave you to decide!" Kopoko stood up and returned to his vehicle.

As soon as he was out of earshot, they huddled together. Nia spoke first. "I think we should leave."

"I agree," Boota nodded. "These people are insane."

Simon looked darkly amused. "I don't know. It makes sense to me. It would sure explain a lot of things."

An expression of worry clouded Nia's face.

He shrugged. "It's okay. I don't _have_ to accept. Anyway, we're safe here for the time being. We could just stay for the next few days until I've gotten my strength back."

Boota frowned. This situation bothered him on a level he didn't know how to express, but he couldn't deny that it would be better for Simon to heal before they took any further action. "Just a few days, then. But we should be careful not to grow too comfortable here."

"Look who's talking; you've already finished over half of those snacks."

"They...they taste good."

Simon chuckled. "No need to worry about me becoming comfortable. I don't think I could stand being here much longer than that myself."

Kopoko returned once the rain stopped. Tugging on his whiskers eagerly, he asked, "Have you decided?"

"I'll need to think about it," was Simon's reply. "I just got here; I'm not ready to take on another job yet."

"Ah." Kopoko's whiskers drooped for a second, but he regained his enthusiasm quickly. "Yes, yes, take as long as you need! In time, I am sure you will come to understand."

Simon raised an eyebrow, expression dubious.

They stepped out from under the awning to find the sun glaring down at them again, with rainwater dripping down from trees and rising back up as steam. The Kumpus brought Simon back his coat, fully cleaned, dried, and folded, which he accepted with begrudging gratitude.

Boota squinted up at the sky. "How long are the days here? It still feels like mid-afternoon."

Kopoko did some quick calculations on his hand-held device. "It will be another three Earth hours before eventide."

"Enough time to get back and set up camp," Simon said, looking at the path in the jungle.

"You are leaving?" Kopoko sounded disappointed. "If you are tired, we could make this place much more comfortable..."

"I'd rather have some privacy."

Boota shouldered the supply pack, and they prepared to set off through the jungle once again. Kopoko continued pestering them with suggestions ("We could prepare a meal for you! We could take you wherever you like!") but they brushed him off.

"We'll come back tomorrow. Don't try to follow us!" Simon called back as they left.

Warily, Boota glanced back. The Kumpus were quickly out of sight due to the thick vegetation, but they did not seem to be making pursuit. Still, he could not trust them yet.


	13. Destiny (Part 2)

Simon's dreams were often full of explosions. Having seen them enough when he was awake, perhaps it was only natural that they would follow him into his sleep. At times they were even useful, shaking him awake just as the Anti-Spirals were about to launch another attack, as if his dreams foretold reality.

In comparison, the quieter dreams were torture. Full of what-ifs and what-had-beens, all the thoughts he'd refused to address consciously expressed themselves in his subconscious.

Tonight was no different. He found himself jolted out of sleep, reeling wide-eyed from a nightmare that felt horrifyingly real.

"Simon?"

Like a shining ray of reality, Nia was looking down at him, face full of worry.

He sat up. Things were just the same as they were when he'd gone to sleep, the three of them lying on top of a blanket they had spread out over a pile of foliage. Boota was still fast asleep next to him, while Nia sat on his other side. Blue moonlight cast the beach in an unearthly glow.

"Are you okay?" Nia asked.

Simon felt absolutely terrible. Physically and emotionally. But he couldn't tell her that, so he kept his mouth shut.

When he didn't answer, she asked again. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"...Yeah."

"What was it abou—"

" _Don't_ ask me!" he snapped, shivering.

She muttered a quiet apology.

Damn. Now look what he did. He didn't want her seeing him like this...

Once he calmed down a little, he tried to make it up to her by speaking in a gentler tone.

"You've been awake all this time?"

"Yes."

Of course. He looked her over. Her feet appeared to be wet. Was she just down by the water? At least she wasn't just sitting here the whole time....

She was watching him now, waiting for him to go back to sleep.

He sighed. Like hell was he going to sleep again. He would only be returning to more nightmares.

"Mind if I stay up with you?" he asked.

She blinked. "Why?"

"I have a headache."

"Take one of those pain pills."

"We only have so many."

"You need your rest."

"I can keep you company."

"No. When will you sleep if not now?"

"It's okay. I'll collapse eventually."

He'd said it half-jokingly, but her mouth formed a disapproving line. It didn't look like he was going to win this one.

"What about you then?" he asked. "You don't sleep. You don't even eat or drink."

He must have been stupid not to notice until today. He'd somehow assumed in the back of his mind that she got those sorts of things done when she was out of his sight. It hadn't occurred to him that she never did them at all.

"I need neither nourishment nor rest. My life is sustained by the Anti-Spiral hive mind."

And there she was sounding like the Messenger again.

It's not that he didn't already understand she wasn't human (she'd reminded him often enough), but on some level, as he got to know her, he had let himself forget. Yet the inescapable truth was that no matter how human she became on the inside, her body was still the same. She was like the flame at the end of an endless candle; perennial if left alone, but extinguishable with a single breath of air.

He shuddered, recalling how that Messenger was killed, and how that visual had seeped into his dream.

"But just because you don't need to doesn't mean you can't, right? You still get tired. I've seen you."

"I don't mind staying awake," she said. Then, a little more shamefaced, "Does it...bother you?"

"No. But it would be nice to see you relax."

She blinked.

"Come on," he said. " _I'm_ the one who needs rest? You have three _years_ of sleep to catch up on."

"But..." she stammered. "You're in pain. I can't relax."

"Having you sit around worrying isn't going to make me feel any better."

She still didn't seem ready to give, so he proposed a compromise. "We can sleep together." He assumed that she wouldn't take that as anything other than innocent.

At last she accepted, albeit reluctantly.

He gently pushed her to the ground beside him, then laid down himself. She fidgeted a little, and seemed abnormally shy, glancing at him every so often.

"You need to close your eyes, remember?"

"I will close mine if you close yours," she said.

"Fair enough."

It took quite a while, with a lot more shifting of positions; as if she had forgotten _how_ to sleep. But finally, he sensed that she was still. He cracked open his eye. She was lying on her side facing him, hands folded beneath her head. Her breathing had slowed. She looked positively serene.

He sat up again. "See, that wasn't so difficult," he said quietly, brushing his fingers over her soft hair.

That was all well and good, but now he couldn't sleep himself. The myriad of noises— from the waves, the jungle, Boota's snoring— all drilled into his head individually, making the pounding even worse. "Sorry Nia, I can't sleep even if I wanted to."

He found Kamina's sword where he'd left it, within arm's reach. Picking it up, he pulled back the sheath to look at his reflection on the gleaming blade. But he couldn't stand looking for very long.

Sliding it closed again, he set it down at his feet and sighed. They had come a long way from that little underground village, hadn't they? And for what?

After a moment, he spoke softly.

"It sure was easy, wasn't it, Bro? I just got out of this mess, and right when I'm wondering what the hell am I going to do...the first planet we come to and I'm already given a chance to go back. It's like I really was meant to come here..."

 

* * *

  

"What the hell."

In the morning, they returned to the waterfall to find that the Kumpus had set up a base camp. Several other vehicles had arrived in the clearing, and there were more Kumpus milling about. Trees had been cut down to widen the clearing, and tendrils of black smoke rose up to the sky from pipes on the vehicles. With the beeping of machines and general commotion added to the jungle noises, the tranquility that had been present the previous day was no more.

Almost the minute that their presence was noticed, Kopoko stood in front of them again.

"Ah! You have come so early! Good, good! Have you had a nice sleep? Would you like something to eat?"

Before they could give an answer, they were quickly ushered to sit down and a tray of food was set before them. Simon decided not to complain and began tucking in with Boota. After a while, Nia picked up one of the food morsels as well and nibbled on it.

Meanwhile, Kopoko worked on pressing buttons on his hand-held device. Finally, he looked up. "I have created a schedule!"

Simon paused in eating. "For what?"

"In the days to come, we would like to show you all of our preparations for battle, so you may see that we are well supplied and inspect anything you are not familiar with. I am sure you will need to know these things in order to lead us."

"He hasn't accepted yet," Boota reminded.

"No matter," said Kopoko cheerily. "We have nothing to hide from the Great Destroyer."

In other words, they were going to lay all their cards on the table. Simon had to admit, their honesty was refreshing at least.

He shared a glance with Nia and Boota. "It's not like we have anything else to do."

"But are you feeling well enough for it?" Boota asked.

"Sure," he lied. It would be difficult to relax here now anyway. Damn, he needed a painkiller...

Once they finished eating, they stood up to get ready to go, but Kopoko raised a hand.

"Ah, I am afraid the Anti-Spiral Messenger must stay behind."

Simon blinked. "What?"

"I tried, but I could not get clearance for her to come along."

He frowned. "Then try harder."

"We have only come this far by extreme secrecy in regards to the Anti-Spirals," Kopoko explained cautiously.

"I told you she can be trusted. She won't leak anything to them."

"I am sorry, but it could not be permitted, even on your word. These are secrets that not even our citizens are allowed the slightest knowledge of."

"Why should we trust you if you won't trust us?"

"That is not the issue, I promise you. The higher officials merely wish to be cautious. They did not anticipate her presence."

"Well she's not going away, so they better get used to it."

Simon knew he was being unreasonable, but hell, he wasn't about to just leave Nia alone with these people after he'd seen what they could do.

He sat back down. "Fine. Then I'm staying too."

Kopoko made a choked sound of dismay, and began furiously tapping on his hand-held device again.

Boota and Nia sat down as well. "I don't mind not going, really," Nia said.

Simon shrugged. "I don't either. It's up to them."

"At least this proves that they aren't eager to succumb to your _every_ whim," Boota mused.

Looking increasingly harried, Kopoko spent the next couple of hours shouting into his device. By early afternoon, they were still at a stalemate, and it was beginning to look like they weren't going anywhere after all. That is, until another vehicle arrived on the scene, which Kopoko met with great relief. The doors opened, and another Kumpu in a white uniform came out, greeting Kopoko.

The three of them stood up and walked over. "What's going on?" Simon asked, wondering if they had finally given in to his demands.

Kopoko grinned. "We have come up with a solution."

And with that, two gray-uniformed Kumpus stepped out of the vehicle with a smaller, older Kumpu in tattered clothes between them.

A small gasp left Nia's lips. Simultaneously, as the older Kumpu saw them, it gave a startled shout, and began rushing in Nia's direction.

Instinctively, Simon stepped in front of her, and the Kumpu froze at his feet, trembling and wide-eyed. Yet barely a moment later, Simon felt a hand on his arm, and he was pushed aside. By Nia.

"N-Nia?"

She stared down at the Kumpu, her eyes brimming with tears. Then she suddenly fell to her knees, wrapping the old Kumpu in her arms. The Kumpu wailed and returned the embrace.

After exchanging a bewildered glance with Boota, Simon turned on Kopoko. "Okay, what's going on? Who is this?!"

"She was the mother of our Anti-Spiral Messenger," Kopoko explained. He looked delighted. "It seems they are getting along quite well."

Nia was now petting the old Kumpu's back, tearfully murmuring something in an alien language.

Simon stared. What did this mean? Was he missing something??

"Uh, Nia?" He shook her shoulder, trying to get her attention. " _Nia?_ "

Finally, she looked up at him. For a second, there was a look in her eyes that was as if she didn't recognize him. But it passed, and the Nia he knew was facing him again.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm...yes," she said distractedly. "I'm fine."

"What just happened?"

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to understand..." She shook her head then turned her attention back to the old woman sobbing in her arms. "I...I would like to talk with her for a while."

"Talk with her? But how..."

Jumping to take advantage, Kopoko quickly began tugging on Simon's arm. "Do you see! She wishes to stay behind! Let us give them some privacy and be on our way!"

"Wha— wait a minute!" Simon exclaimed. He looked at Nia again. "Are you sure about this?"

She gave him a nod. "I'll be all right."

Unnerved, Simon continued staring at her in confusion as Kopoko tugged on his arm. Before he knew it, he had been dragged into an awaiting vehicle.

 

* * *

  

Despite Kopoko's repeated assurances that Nia would be safe, Simon could not sit still the whole time they were in the vehicle. Amid his demands for an explanation and Kopoko's attempts to placate him, Boota looked out the window, keeping track of the scenery.

The vehicle wound through the jungle along the stream, heading towards a distant mountain, and after about twenty minutes, approached the mouth of a cave. As they went in, the view outside the window turned pitch black.

Simon blinked, putting an abrupt stop to the arguing. "Are we going underground?"

"Yes! We only allow our civilian population on the surface. Everything else, we have hidden underground."

'Everything else' turned out to be just about every advanced piece of technology they had, both new and old. The cave branched off into an extensive system of tunnels. Incandescent lights lined the cavern walls, and soon they met traffic, similar vehicles speeding busily along every which way.

"So this is how they get around without being detected," Simon mumbled, joining Boota in looking out the window. "Smart."

Kopoko looked delighted by the remark, but it was the only compliment that he would receive that day. Even as they stepped off at their destination, an underground manufacturing plant, it was clear that whatever interest Simon might have had in the tour had already dissipated. He seemed distracted, and grew angrier as the day went by, impatient to leave. Only once did he actually ask a question, and it was in no way related to what they were seeing.

It was as they were overlooking a giant cavern filled with bipedal mecha, rows upon rows of them as far as the eye could see. It was an impressive sight, but from the look on his face, Simon's mind was elsewhere.

Kopoko was just in the middle of telling them of the mechs' historical participation in the great wars of the past, when suddenly Simon interrupted him.

"How did you know that would happen?"

Kopoko stared blankly for a moment, caught off guard.

Simon elaborated. "That she would react that way."

"Ah." Kopoko nodded to himself, understanding now. "I did not know. But it was well worth a try." He grinned. "And again, fate has proven to be on our side!"

Simon's eye narrowed. "Hmph." Fuming, he stormed away.

"Ah! I did not mean to upset you, Great Destroyer!"

As Kopoko hurried after him, Boota followed at a slower pace, watching Kopoko's back. Despite their innocuous demeanor, it was becoming increasingly clear that these people were to be contended with after all.

After that, Simon refused to see any more. They had been there for only a few hours, but with the tour cut regrettably short, Kopoko arranged for a vehicle to come pick them up.

"No worry! We will have plenty of time tomorrow!" Kopoko said assuredly, but Simon's bad mood persisted, forcing Boota to suffer an earful of griping on the ride back.

"I can't believe I let them pull something like that. I should have seen it coming. I shouldn't have let my guard down."

"Mm." Boota answered with noncommittal noises, keeping an eye on the Kumpus sitting near the front of the vehicle.

"What the hell even happened anyway? It was like she was a different person. How am I supposed to believe that she'll be all right after seeing her like that? You know?"

"Mm."

"If she just wanted to be alone, that would have been fine. But what was all the hugging and crying about?" He fidgeted in his seat. "Did you see the way she pushed me aside? Like I was just some... _obstacle_."

He fell silent for a moment after that, looking at his feet.

"...I was just trying to protect her," he said finally.

Boota sighed. Clearly, Simon had been hurt by that more than he wanted to admit.

 

* * *

  

When they finally returned to the clearing, Simon found Nia sitting alone by the waterfall, trailing her feet in the water. Upon seeing her safe and normal, the anger and damaged pride melted away to be replaced by relief and worry. He quickly went to her side.

She didn't seem to notice his presence at first, looking down at the pool with a thoughtful expression.

He cleared his throat.

"Oh..." She finally looked up, not quite smiling, but from the look on her face she seemed glad to see him.

"Where'd the old lady go?"

"They took her home. How was your day?"

"It sucked." He sat down beside her.

An awkward silence passed between them for a moment.

Nia clasped her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I wasn't quite myself."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then who were you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't, and looked down at the water again. At that moment, she looked so sad that he couldn't help but feel awful for being angry earlier. Just what had she been going through all day?

Finally she spoke again. "The old woman...she is the only surviving member of his— Manuku's— family."

"Manuku? The Anti-Spiral Messenger?"

Nia nodded. "All the others, even his own wife and children, were killed in the attacks. She's been grieving alone for the past few days, while the rest of her people celebrated in the streets. It's so sad..."

"You understood her?"

"A little." She breathed in a shaky breath, then words began to spill from her mouth. "I _knew_ her, Simon. From the moment I first saw her. Though very faint, Manuku's memories are still inside of me, left over from the hive mind." She put a hand to her chest. "He's dead, but...a part of him lives on in me..."

Simon let out a breath that he wasn't aware he had been holding. So that was it. That explained everything.

Nia turned to look at him imploringly.

"Is it strange, I wonder...to love someone you've never met before?"

He stared. As far as he could recall, this was only the second time that he'd heard her mention the word 'love.' What had she said the first time...?

_"But 'love' is a concept that pertains to evolution. You love only by instinct. I have no need for such a thing other than to know that it is a threat to the universe."_

She continued speaking quietly.

"I tried to tell her what I could recall of Manuku's last regrets as he became a Messenger. To be honest, I'm not sure whether it helped relieve any of her pain, or made it worse. I hope I was able to comfort her, even just a little."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"But now...I can't help but imagine how the old man must have felt when _I_ became a Messenger. And I know that I...I can never talk to him again..." The tears began to run down her cheeks.

Simon wished that he knew what to say. He wished that he could understand what she was going through. Instead, all he could offer was his shoulder for her to cry on.

 

* * *

  

The next morning, Simon rose from a fitful half-sleep to find Nia already wide awake, enjoying the view of the sunrise.

He stirred, groaning a little, which caught her attention.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

He was getting tired of being asked that all the time. "No better, no worse. How about you?"

At his question, her expression softened with a hint of melancholy. "Well...there's nothing I can do about it anymore." She gave a little shrug. "I feel oddly refreshed now actually, after all that crying."

"...Right."

Then her eyes lit up with an idea. "I know!"

"Hrk!" Simon's heart jolted as Nia suddenly leaned over him to shake Boota awake, balancing one hand on his thigh as she did so.

"Buu-wha?" Boota mumbled drowsily.

"Let's all watch the sunrise together! It's beautiful."

Both men blinked at her, Boota still half-asleep and Simon's heart still pounding.

Nia answered them with a cheery smile and returned her gaze to the sunrise.

Silently, they followed suit. It truly was beautiful, now that they stopped to look at it, with the sky dyed orange-pink and sun tracing a line of gold over the waves. But gradually Simon found himself watching Nia instead, marveling at how easily she was able to put all that behind her.

No, maybe she hadn't. She was still sad, but chose to hide it behind a smile. To keep him from worrying? Or was she simply trying to look forward rather than back? Whatever the reason, it reminded him of Bro in a way.

An hour later, they trekked back to the Kumpus' camp. Simon considered not going at all, but quickly realized that they would only come looking for him again anyway.

The day started much the same. As they were served food, and Nia helped him change his bandages, Kopoko fiddled with his hand-held device, no doubt making more plans for the day.

Simon looked up to find himself suddenly face-to-face with a Kumpu.

Its whiskers were soft and wispy. Though the Kumpu stood straight, and Simon was sitting down, it only came about nose to nose with him; much smaller than the others. It must have been one of their children.

Blinking at him with large, beady eyes, mouth hanging slightly open, it had an expression of awe on its face. But rather than being worshipful like the other Kumpus, this one seemed mostly full of wonder at seeing an alien race up close for the first time.

After about a minute of the Kumpu not saying anything, Simon called over to Kopoko. "Hey, who's the kid?"

Kopoko quickly hurried over and admonished the child for its bad manners, then turned back to them, proudly placing his hands on its shoulders.

"This is my son, Nopo. I have brought him here today in hope that he will learn much from meeting you. I have begun teaching him your language, and though he is a fast learner, I think he will benefit greatly with more experience speaking it."

Kopoko urged Nopo to say something.

Shuffling his feet, Nopo licked his lips and began. "Great Destroyer, it is a v...very good honor to meet you." He bowed. "My name is Nopo Naku. My best wish is to be a re...renowned Royal Interpreter as my father and my ancestors. I am most happiness to be born this generation, to see your...your..."

Stricken with nerves, Nopo trailed off. Kopoko nudged him to go on, but Nopo's mouth clamped shut, and would not open until finally, Nia piped in with what sounded like words of encouragement.

Simon stared at her. It felt strange to hear her speak that alien language when just two days ago, she understood it as little as he did. But Nopo took her words to heart and tried again.

She helped him stumble through the rest of the speech, suggesting words and phrases whenever he got stuck. By the time he was done, the two of them seemed to have hit it off, speaking cordially in a jumble of two languages.

Simon could only understand half of what they were saying, which really wasn't enough to understand anything. As he sat there futilely trying to follow the conversation, they formed a friendship with almost dizzying speed right before his eyes.

Soon Nopo grabbed Nia's hand and led her to a nearby flowering plant, pointing to it and explaining something to her animatedly. Nia nodded and listened with interest.

Looking on, Kopoko seemed pleased. By now it was obvious that he had only used his son as another thinly-veiled attempt to keep Nia out of the way again.

Simon sighed. Well, at least this time the method wasn't so traumatic. And Nia did look like she was enjoying herself. He wasn't about to deny her that after what happened yesterday.

He stood up and called over to her. "Nia, will you be all right here?"

Nia looked a little surprised, but nodded.

He turned to Kopoko, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well? Are we going or not?"

Now Kopoko looked very pleased.

 

* * *

  

"So where are you taking us now?"

It seemed Kopoko wanted to avoid a repeat of yesterday, because this time, as soon as they entered the underground tunnels, the vehicle made a U-turn and began taking them in a different direction.

"I think you will find this much more interesting than what I have shown you so far," Kopoko grinned.

"Really." Truth be told, Simon could hardly recall what they were shown yesterday anyway.

"Yes. It is our battleship!"

Simon and Boota exchanged a glance. Boota looked skeptical, but Simon sat up a little straighter. After all, considering their situation, and that this would be the only battleship around for possibly several light-years, maybe it would be worth a look after all.

Minutes passed, and then suddenly they were no longer underground, but underwater. Through the window they could see that they were traveling through a brightly lit glass tube along the ocean floor. Behind them, the cave that they had just exited shrank into the distance.

In the murky depths of the water outside the tube lurked dark shapes— sea creatures, large and small. But as they continued on for an hour, two hours, less organic-looking shapes began to appear. Though each passed by in an instant, the more that appeared, the easier it became to identify what they were. Buildings. Ancient and submerged, but unmistakable. They were traveling through an underwater city.

All the while, Kopoko showed them holographic projections of the Kumpus' records of the war against the Anti-Spirals. A thousand years ago, the Kumpus were an advanced race; they had colonized many of the other planets in their solar system, and with those resources, had created a whole fleet of battleships.

As the war continued, their number of battleships dwindled, until finally their greatest ally— Lord Genome of the planet Earth— turned against them, destroying all they had left. Or so he thought. One of the battleships managed to escape, warping from the battlefield just in time, and made it back to their planet. Then, the surviving warriors were left with a dilemma.

"We had to find a place to hide it," Kopoko explained. "We could not let this last ship be destroyed, else we would never be able to rise to the stars again. There was very little time before the Anti-Spirals would realize what we were doing, so we had no choice but to..."

Before he could finish, the vehicle jerked to a stop. "Ah! We are here already!"

"Wait, here?" Simon asked. From what he could see out the window, they appeared to still be underwater.

"We will be able to see it from here!"

The door of the vehicle opened, and Kopoko led them out. The glass tube still went on as far as they could see, but right in front of where the vehicle had stopped was an elevator connected to another glass tube, this time stretching vertically.

As the elevator took them up to the surface, sunlight gradually illuminated the water again, and far below, they could see miles and miles of the sunken skyscrapers in every direction.

"What are those buildings?" Boota asked.

Kopoko shook his head sadly. "Once it was a mighty city. We had many such cities before the Anti-Spirals came to our world. Now, we have only few. A great shame."

At last, the glass tube breached the surface and the elevator came to a stop. They stepped out onto a platform several feet above the ocean. It seemed to be a viewing platform, but to view what, they could not guess. All they could see around them was ocean and a large landmass up ahead.

"I thought you were taking us to your battleship?"

"Yes! We can see it now."

Simon squinted. "Is it because I have only one eye that I can't see anything?"

"No, I can't see it either," Boota said.

Unperturbed, Kopoko gestured toward the distant landmass. "That is our battleship."

Simon sighed. "All right, why don't you save us some time and just take us to it? And besides that, if it's small enough to hide on a continent... Look, our flagship was as big as a moon. Each Anti-Spiral ship is at least twice as big. Size isn't everything, but if you want to stand a chance out there, you're going to have to do better."

" _That is our battleship_ ," Kopoko repeated. "The entire continent."

They stared at him, not understanding at first, but as the meaning of his words sunk in, they looked at the landmass again.

Suddenly it all made sense. The underwater cities. A battleship that needed to be hidden. A continent that replaced an ocean.

"That will do," Simon said quietly.

 

* * *

  

That night at the beach, Boota filled in the details of what they had seen to Nia.

"They basically wiped out half of their own population just for the sake of hiding a battleship. And apparently, the common citizens don't even know what really happened. The government tells them it was all the Anti-Spirals' doing."

Simon stared silently at the campfire. He had hardly said a word since coming back.

Nia looked saddened by the news, but not surprised. "I see," she said quietly. "The Anti-Spirals had suspected as much. The sudden decrease in Spiral life forms on the planet was..." She trailed off, shaking her head as if she'd changed her mind.

"I suppose that means this sort of thing wasn't uncommon?" Boota sighed.

"When the Anti-Spirals began stationing the Spiral Life-Form Annihilation Systems, many races were forced to impose a limit on their own population. My father was certainly not the first."

"Adai Village was just the latest in a trend, huh?" Simon muttered.

"Adai...?" Nia said questioningly.

"You don't want to hear it."

Boota frowned. "They keep saying there was no choice. But there must have been some other way. I'm not convinced that they didn't enjoy doing it, just for the sake of seeing destruction."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Maybe," Simon said, lying back. "Either way, I'm not in the position to judge."

"You never willingly sacrificed over half of your entire race," Boota quickly backtracked.

"That's true. I should thank Rossiu for relieving me of having to make that decision." He sneered. "Oh wait, I can't."

Clearly, he had gone into one of his deeply cynical moods.

"What they did really isn't so different from what we did just three years ago. When you get right down to it, we're all Spiral beings. We're all capable of the same things. We're all murderers."

"You're right. We are all the same," Nia said quietly. "I've done horrible things too."

Now it was Simon's turn to backtrack. "That's different. You didn't _mean_ to do it."

"I meant to hurt those people when we were escaping."

They fell silent again.

"I think..." Nia began, "I'm beginning to understand the nature of Spiral Power better now. It's true that it drives people to destroy. But that's not all that it does."

She looked at Simon. "You have as much capacity for kindness as you do for violence. I've seen it. It's the same with the Kumpus. Manuku's mother did not enjoy seeing her family die. Nopo too. He is taught to celebrate destruction, and yet he loves this planet. He loves to learn. He is so young, and there is still so much that he yearns to do. I don't think he even fully understands what the adults around him are planning to accomplish."

Simon listened silently, his expression unchanging.

Nia sighed. "These people may be dangerous. But that does not make them evil."

With nothing left to say, they turned in for the night.

Yet Boota still had much to say, and waited for his chance. When he sensed that Simon had gone to sleep, he sat up. He only had to touch Nia's arm to wake her. She blinked at him in surprise, and he motioned her to follow him a few feet away from the campsite. There, he spoke to her in a loud whisper.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you defending these people?"

It took a couple seconds for her to realize what he was referring to. "I'm only telling the truth."

"I don't care if it's true or not, you shouldn't be saying it."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't understand. Are you asking me to lie?"

"I'm telling you to _watch what you say_. It's so obvious now. They must have realized you have influence over him. It's only natural that they would try to use you to get Simon on their side."

"I'm not being used," Nia protested. "Those thoughts are my own."

"You don't understand," he said, shaking his head. "You know this place isn't good for him. I thought you had an agenda. Didn't you want to stop him from starting the Spiral Nemesis?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I do. I want to stop him. But it's not because of any agenda. It's because I _care_. The Spiral Nemesis would be the end of everything— _everything_. I understand what that means now."

"Good. Then be aware that right now, you're being counter-productive. We're in enough trouble as it is without one of us falling for a sympathy ploy."

Nia tried to protest again, but in that instant, Boota felt a chill down his back. As if they were being watched. He quickly spun around.

"What are you two doing?"

Simon was sitting up now, staring at them.

Boota let out his breath. "We were just talking."

"I can see that."

Nia turned away and went to lie next to Simon, looking quietly miffed.

"It's nothing," Boota assured. "You should get back to sleep."

Simon gave him a dubious look, but said nothing more.

Boota came back over, but as he did so, looked at the trees. Somehow, that uneasy feeling still hadn't left him.

And now he knew. He couldn't look to Nia for help anymore. He should have known that any woman crazy enough to love Simon now wasn't going to be reliable in this type of situation.

But it would take more than old women and children to win _him_ over.

 

* * *

  

Nopo was back the next morning, and picked up right where he left off with Nia the previous day, telling her stories. They were both becoming more adept with each others' languages, and now Nia was asking questions herself, pointing at the various plants and animals in the area.

Simon watched them as Kopoko prepared for another trip. Somehow, he was starting to actually miss Nia, though he knew that was silly. She was right there in front of him.

Kopoko gave him a nudge. "Are you ready to go, Great Destroyer?"

Simon shrugged. He turned to leave, but then a sound stopped him in his tracks.

It was laughter, melodic and sweet.

Nia's laughter.

Simon felt an ache in his chest. As much as he loved the sound of it, it sounded so foreign to him too.

Had he ever heard her laugh before? No, he could swear this was the first time...

Glancing back, he saw what had caused her to laugh. It was Nopo, making a silly face.

Before he could register what he was doing, he had strode over, grabbed Nia by the shoulders, and turned her to face him.

The humor left her face, replaced by a look of surprise. He regretted it at once.

Realizing that he was manhandling her, he let go.

She peered into his face, waiting for him to say something.

He hadn't even thought of anything to say. Crap.

"Don't...get too comfortable, okay?" he stumbled.

"I won't." She gave him a small, bemused smile.

Feeling like an utter fool, he walked away. The shame only grew as he realized that, for a brief moment, he had been jealous of a _child_.

 

* * *

  

This time, the vehicle did not go underground at all, instead slicing a path through the jungle until they came to the side of a mountain. From there, they headed out on foot to some stone ruins. Covered in overgrowth and barely recognizable as buildings, the crumbling architecture looked ancient, and as Kopoko explained, they were older than even the underwater cities, dating back over two thousand years ago.

Kopoko pointed them to some old scriptures carved into a rock wall. This was apparently where the myth of the "Great Destroyer" had first originated.

From the blank expression on his face as he looked up at the scriptures, Simon had something on his mind again. Boota noticed that he had been sighing a lot since this morning.

"You don't have to be so resigned," he whispered to him.

Simon cast him a look of mild annoyance. "Who said I was resigned? I'm just tired."

Kopoko overheard. "Oh, you are tired? Perhaps you would like to return to camp?"

Strangely, Simon seemed less than enthused at that prospect. "Yeah, whatever."

As they trekked back to the vehicle, Boota's attention was divided. On one hand, Simon's attitude was beginning to worry him. On the other, he still couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Even as he fell behind, he continued glancing back, animal instinct raising the fur on the back of his neck.

Finally, Boota came to a stop. Standing perfectly still, he closed his eyes and focused his senses on the jungle around him. Kopoko's voice echoed up ahead, still blabbering on about the scriptures, accompanied by his and Simon's footsteps through the undergrowth. All around, there were noises from the various jungle creatures, and steady dripping of water from the treetops, left over from the afternoon rain.

And in the air, just to the right of his head...

Boota's eyes snapped open, just in time to see a small gray fly zipping away. With two wide steps, he turned and snatched it out of the air.

He could hear it making a buzzing sound now as it struggled inside his fist. He allowed himself an assured smirk. Now he had _proof_.

But as he turned back to the path, Boota felt a searing heat against his palm, and heard a pop.

With a yelp, he opened his fist. The fly was gone, leaving behind only cinders and singed fur.

It had self-destructed.

His suspicions were confirmed now, without a doubt.

He quickly caught up with Simon and pulled him aside.

"What is it?" Simon asked.

"I've had this odd feeling for a while," Boota whispered, "and now I know why. We're being watched."

Moments later, the two of them strode up to Kopoko.

"Hey, Kopoko!"

"Yes, Great Destroyer?"

Simon crossed his arms. "So I hear you've been spying on us."

"Pardon?" Kopoko looked confused.

"You know what we're talking about," Boota growled. "The little robotic flies. You've had them trained on us the whole time since we came to this planet, haven't you?"

"Flies? I am sorry, but..."

"Don't bother playing dumb. You tried to cover it up, but it's too late." Boota held out his hand. "I know what you're up to."

Kopoko blinked at Boota's hand and abruptly began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Ah, do you mean the piki flies!"

Kopoko reached out to a nearby branch and plucked something from it. They saw that it was a small gray fly. Clutching the fly by its wings, he showed it to them.

"Is that what you saw?" Simon asked.

"Y...yes," Boota admitted. What were they trying to pull?

Suddenly, the fly's body began to smolder, and with a pop, it exploded. Kopoko's fingers were now covered in cinders.

"The piki flies are very sacred to us," Kopoko explained. "They make such a lovely explosion when they die. Their breeding season is almost at an end now. In the coming days, as they finish laying their eggs, I am sure you will see more of them burning out, causing small forest fires."

While Boota stared in disbelief, Simon let out an ironic chuckle.

"Figures that evolution would produce an exploding fly. Why am I not surprised?"

"But..." Boota stammered, staring at the cinders on his hand. "I could have sworn...the one that I saw looked more...metallic..."

When he glanced up again, he saw that both Simon and Kopoko were looking at him with their eyebrows raised.

Oh no. Ohhh no. No way was he going to be thought of as crazy, not by _them_ of all people!

"...Never mind."

For the rest of the day, Kopoko regaled them with tales of how their greatest leaders and poets had all been inspired by piki flies. It took all of Boota's self-control not to grind his teeth into dust.

 

* * *

  

Boota was roused in the middle of the night by a low muttering. Fearing it was the Kumpus, he started awake, but quickly saw that they were not the cause of the muttering.

It was Simon.

Boota blinked. "What are you doing awake?" He had made sure that Simon was asleep before settling down himself...

Simon fell silent. Then, without a word or even a glance his way, he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Something wasn't right. Usually he would have to needle him into going back to sleep, but this time Simon did not protest, or even need to be told. He gave in too easily.

Suspicious, Boota continued watching over him for another hour.

 

* * *

  

Kopoko met them the next day with an announcement.

"Our king will be arriving here tomorrow! He has been much eager to see you, yet as you do not wish to come to the city, he has decided to come to you instead."

To prepare for the king's arrival, the Kumpus were busy making the clearing even wider, cutting down more trees and clearing more paths in the surrounding forest. They hung lanterns from tree branches, creating bright paths even beneath the jungle canopy. And while the atmosphere had become more festive, the area was now nearly unrecognizable from just a few days ago.

The three of them sat watching this on the sidelines, Simon and Boota both sighing in annoyance. Another safe haven ruined.

Nia seemed especially disappointed. Simon half-expected her to start going on about the destruction caused by Spiral Power, but instead she merely expressed her sadness that a certain rare flower Nopo found yesterday had now been dug up and thrown away. "It was so beautiful...I wish I could have shown it to you too, Simon."

Maybe he shouldn't have expected it at all. Especially not after what she said a couple of days ago. But she was changing so fast now that he could barely keep up.

She was rediscovering herself, bit by bit. He saw a new side of her every day. How he'd longed to know more of her before, when every new expression and glimmer of personality had been a rare find. Yet as glad as he was to see her becoming a more complete person, he couldn't deny that now, it was also starting to scare him. Now, when he had so little to offer.

Nopo joined them minutes later. They quickly began building a plan to spend the day rescuing other such rare plants before they were cleared away. This time Nia did try several times to include Simon in the conversation, but he hung back, not contributing anything. When she suggested that he stay with them for the day, perhaps help by digging new patches of earth for the plants to take root, he only said bluntly, "I don't dig holes anymore."

And before he could see the look of disappointment on her face, he went off with Boota in tow to get ready to leave.

 

* * *

  

Their next destination was an underground laboratory, where they could only look through windows at the work being done within. It all looked highly complicated, with test tubes, sterilized environments, and pods that looked suspiciously like what the Helix King had used to create his Beastmen.

Kopoko explained what was going on. "Many years ago, one of our great kings, in despair to think that he would never see the Spiral Nemesis in his generation, ordered for the creation of this facility. Since then, we have been conducting countless genetic experiments."

At that, Simon's gaze sharpened. His attention was finally piqued.

"We had hoped we would be able to pinpoint a gene that corresponds with strong Spiral Power. But, ah...all these years, and we still have yet to succeed in breeding a Spiral Knight of the same caliber as Lord Genome."

Kopoko shook his head. "We were wrong to doubt the scriptures. The Great Destroyer could not be _created_." He looked up at Simon with a grin. "You had to come to us."

Afterwards, Simon proceeded to ask questions about the facility, trying to get an idea of how close their level of knowledge and technology came to that of the Lord Genome Head. By the end of the tour, he seemed to be in deep thought over what they had seen. Kopoko was overjoyed, but Boota's worry only increased. He could guess what was on Simon's mind now.

When they returned to the base camp, Nia was nowhere to be seen. They found out from the Kumpus that she and Nopo went off on their own over an hour ago and hadn't returned.

Simon cursed. Kopoko tried assuring him that Nia would be safe with Nopo, but Boota sensed it was more that Simon felt regretful. After all, he did treat her rudely this morning (or rather, he'd treated her like he did anyone else).

Boota made a suggestion. "Perhaps we should look for her?" It was becoming increasingly difficult to find time away from these people, even if they weren't being spied on. Hopefully this way they could be alone for a while.

"An excellent idea! I will come along!" Kopoko said.

"What?" Boota glared.

Kopoko smiled, pointing at the map on his handheld device. "I could not allow you to become lost yourselves!"

Boota could swear that smile looked extra smug.

They set off along one of the many cleared paths. As Simon and Boota called Nia's name, Kopoko walked ahead, using his device to lead them to possible areas where Nopo could have taken her.

After an hour, Simon stopped calling and let out a deep sigh. "Dammit, she could find _me_ if she wanted to."

"Perhaps she just lost track of time."

"Yeah, I bet she's having the time of her life," Simon muttered.

They proceeded in silence for a while. The area was becoming quite dark now, with only the lanterns lighting their way. Boota kept an eye on Kopoko's back ahead, waiting for an opportunity.

Finally, when he guessed they were out of ears' reach, he spoke up again. "Simon."

"Mm?"

"You're not actually considering their offer, are you?"

Simon did not answer right away. He looked up at the dark treetops and sighed. "What if I am?"

It was as he'd feared. "I would hope you'd reconsider. You've seen what these people are like."

"Yeah, so?"

"We agreed on this. We're only staying for a few days, until you're feeling better."

"And guess what? I still feel like shit."

Boota knew he should have expected that, as well as the fact that it wasn't likely to change anytime soon. He'd hoped that Simon's dislike of the people or protectiveness over Nia would win out in the end...

"Well...what does your gut tell you?"

"It tells me to accept."

Boota winced. That wasn't good. "Maybe...this time it's wrong."

Simon came to a stop, turning to look at him. "What's with you? You never objected to anything before."

"They're just going to use you!" Boota stammered. "It doesn't matter what you think, you'll just be their weapon!"

"And how's that any different from before?"

A recent image sprang into Boota's mind. Simon, covered in blood, being dragged lifelessly down the hall.

"That's exactly why I worry."

With a shrug, Simon continued on. "So what if they do use me? I can use them. Think about it. They have the weapons to fight. They even have the resources to find out how to save Nia. When will we ever get another opportunity like this?"

"But..."

"I'm at a standstill right now." He paused, considering this, then began walking again. "This is all I can think of to move forward again."

Boota's voice rose to a shout. "They don't _care_ about you! They don't even think of you as a person! They only want to appease you, like you're some god, so you'll do their bidding!"

Simon shouted back. "Well if you have any other _bright ideas_ , I'd love to hear them!" His voice carried a hint of desperation.

And before Boota could say anything more, he stormed off.

Watching his friend recede into the distance, Boota sighed.

In hindsight, it really was his own fault that they had come here. After all, _he_ was the one who suggested that they run away. Simon was forced to leave everything behind, just as he was starting to work on something he finally thought worthwhile. The temptation to retrieve that must be nigh irresistible.

They were out of ideas. Out of options. And as much as he hated to admit it, Simon was right. This was their best chance.

 

* * *

  

Striding ahead, Simon passed by Kopoko and kept moving on. Immediately, Kopoko hurried to keep up, jogging by his side.

"Oh dear, did you have an argument?" It wouldn't have been difficult for Kopoko to have overheard, at least the part where they were shouting.

"Shut up," Simon mumbled. He was in no mood to talk.

"It must be very difficult to argue with a friend. I promise you, my people will never object to any decision you ever make for us."

"I said shut up." Simon increased his speed.

Trailing behind now despite his efforts, Kopoko called after him. "We would never betray you! No matter how many of your friends leave you behind, our loyalty will never waver!"

That made him snap.

Simon grabbed Kopoko by his collar and slammed him against the trunk of a tree. "SHUT. UP."

Kopoko squeaked in surprise. "Not that I am suggesting any of your remaining friends will ever betray you, Great Destroyer! But if they do, rest assured that my people will—"

"What the hell makes you think you know anything?!" Simon snarled. "You don't know any of us!" His head was starting to ache again. "I-indeed, we have only been acquainted for a short time, but my people have known of you for a very long—" He'd had enough. Simon dropped Kopoko and stormed off again.

Trees and lanterns rushed by in a blur, never-ending. For the moment, he didn't care if he was getting lost, or if he was any closer to finding Nia. He was already lost in his own thoughts.

It was stupid. Ridiculous. Boota wouldn't betray him, ever. Even when they disagreed, it was only out of good intentions. Boota had been by his side forever. Why would he ever...

...Boota never had his own life, did he?

As soon as that realization hit, Simon wondered why he'd never thought of it before. He had always assumed that his friend's devotion was something akin to what he'd felt for his Bro. And so, he never questioned it. But what if he was wrong about that?

Even after evolving past being a mere pigmole, Boota still remained by his side. Simon never asked if there was anything else he'd like to do. He took him for granted.

He recalled Boota's expression when they fought. Couldn't there have been some resentment in there? Had he been merely too blind to see it?

He shook his head.

And Nia...no, Nia certainly wouldn't. Not after coming this far.

...Not after coming this far. Was that all?

How long had they known each other now? A little over a month? Half of which she'd spent as a slave. He was only just getting to know her. Hell, she was only just getting to know herself.

What if, as she continued to recover herself, she realized...that she didn't really like him after all? He was the first human she had gotten to know besides her father. She had little else to compare him to.

Come to think of it, how ridiculous was it for him to actually feel _disappointed_ that she didn't use the word 'love' for him? After only this long? Who was he kidding? He couldn't even make her laugh.

And what if she did realize that she didn't like him? He held her fate in his hands. She couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She was trapped. What if he screwed up again? It would all be his fault. Oh god, what did he drag her into?

Suddenly, all the doubts that had been building inside for the past few days began to spill over.

He had been happy, once. Traveling the surface with his Bro, Yoko, and the Gurren Brigade, he'd been happy. Even with the Gunmen attacks. Of course, that didn't last too long.

Since then, the Gurren Brigade had cut him off. Yoko cut him off. Humanity cut him off. And now all he had were two people. Two people were enough. But it was still a very small number.

He thought back to that first day on this planet. The brief hours of peace and rest.

He knew it wouldn't last. It _couldn't_ last. If they didn't resent him now, surely they would someday. It was only a matter of time. Only a matter of time...

"Simon!"

Her voice was like a slap to the face.

He stopped. He glanced back, and saw that he had just passed by her on the path. Nia was looking at him wide-eyed, carrying a sleeping Nopo on her back.

"You came looking for me?"

"I..."

He couldn't think straight. Of all the times she caught him off guard, this was by far the worst.

Her expression relaxed into a smile. She looked happy.

Shifting Nopo's weight onto her right arm, she reached for his hand with her left. He panicked for a second, fearing she would feel him tremble. Then his mind went on autopilot.

He snatched her hand and roughly pulled her to his side. "What the hell were you thinking?! Do you know how late it is?"

Her face bore a look of hurt surprise. "We lost track of time and..."

"I don't care!"

He dragged her along, ignoring her protests, knowing he was only making things worse, and hating himself all the while. But then, why prolong the inevitable?

 

* * *

  

He couldn't sleep that night either.

Not sleeping led to thinking. Thinking led to conjuring up bad memories. He couldn't escape them either awake or asleep.

Staring up at the blue moon, Simon laughed softly to himself. The more that he thought, the more that he remembered, he couldn't help but feel that suddenly all of his previous triumphs were called into question.

Everything he'd done was instinct. Instinct, but he'd pulled through because of willpower. That's what he used to think. But wasn't willpower just another facet of Spiral Power? Did he ever have control over his life in the first place? Had acquiring power only made him more...powerless?

He'd posed the same question to himself before. But there was nothing to assure him now. Choice? What was choice when there was no choice?

What if everything that had happened up to now was just to lead him here? Was that why he had met Nia? Was that her purpose? And if so...had she lived out her usefulness? How long would it be before he lost her too? What ironic twist of fate would it be this time?

It never ended. She could be dead tomorrow and he wouldn't be surprised.

He glanced at her. She'd started out sleeping facing away from him, still angry at the way he'd treated her. But now she'd rolled onto her back.

...Maybe he should just kill her now and get it over with. Spare them both the pain.

He watched her chest heave up and down for a while as she breathed. Soon, he came to a decision.

He put his hands over her throat, not applying pressure yet, and stared into her face. Her pale, beautiful face, half covered in his shadow. Nia continued sleeping peacefully, not suspecting a thing.

This face. This expression. It would be the last that he saw of her alive. A far better end than he could envision for her otherwise.

A thought crossed his mind. If he killed her like this, would she leave behind a corpse? Or would she just...disappear? He didn't know which he preferred.

Stop being a coward. Finish it.

He began to tighten his grip, but then hesitated.

The only reason she was asleep now was because of him. Though she was angry, though she didn't _need_ to sleep, she still did anyway. Because of him.

His breath hitched. Dammit. Goddammit. He couldn't do it. Not like this.

And he was kidding himself if he thought he could do it while she was awake.

He let go of her throat. "I'm sorry, Nia," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I can't do it."

He laid down beside her, staring up at the sky.

Pathetic.

Then, along with the ringing in his ears, he thought he heard the faint sound of laughter coming from above.

To add insult to injury, now even the stars were laughing at him.

"Shut up," he said wearily. "Or I'll put out every one of you."

But they kept laughing.

 

* * *

  

As promised, the king arrived the next morning, along with all the fanfare expected of one. The number of Kumpus in the area had nearly tripled. There were musicians playing music, and tarps, banners and all manner of irritating pleasantries hung from the treetops.

The king himself, announced by Kopoko as "King Takuka Pono Ponpom the Third," was a burly, serious-looking fellow, his whiskers stretching down his torso and tied with a ribbon at the end. He sat in the middle of the clearing atop a grand throne carved out of a tree the previous day.

At once, the king began with a long welcoming speech to the Great Destroyer, translated by Kopoko on the spot.

But to Boota's relief, Simon would have none of it, cutting in during the middle. "I'd rather just skip all that and get to business."

There was an excited murmur among the crowd of Kumpus.

"B-business?" Kopoko said eagerly. "Have you decided then?"

"Yeah." Simon looked straight into the king's eyes. "So. You want me to lead your people?"

Kopoko translated. The king nodded, looking straight back.

Simon smirked a very half-hearted smirk. "All right. Then I accept."

Before Kopoko could even start translating, a roar went up from the crowd. They had expected this. There was no doubt in their minds.

And as Boota and Nia shared a troubled glance, as the only ones on the entire planet who would object, they knew that they had lost.


	14. Destiny (Part 3)

As soon as the crowd calmed down, the Kumpus got right down to business. "There is no time to be lost!" Kopoko announced, and together with Simon and the king, they at once began building plans to raise the battleship, among other discussions from which Nia was barred from taking part in.

When she _was_ allowed to see Simon, she followed him around the clearing, trying to reason with him.

"Simon, I really don't think this is a good idea. We only agreed to stay for a few days. I'm sure there has to be a better way than this..."

But he didn't respond. Didn't he hear her?

How did this happen? Nia thought back to yesterday. She had noticed he looked rather down, but her attempts to cheer him up failed. And then inexplicably, he had been mean to her all night, and of course she had been angry about it; he caused her to nearly drop Nopo as he dragged her along. She was sorry that she made him worry, but she didn't think it warranted that kind of attitude...

But would he change his mind over something like that? She could forgive him for having a bad mood. Did she say something last night that gave him the wrong impression?

Or was it as Boota said...had her interaction with the Kumpus convinced Simon that they were trustworthy? Was it her fault?

"Simon, if something I said led you to decide this, I want you to understand that this isn't what I wanted. Please, think this over a little more. Simon? Are you listening?"

She peered at his face. He didn't look well at all. Hadn't he been sleeping? He should have been healing by now, but his Spiral Power was at an unusually low level...

When she finally got a good look at him, what she saw put a chill down her back. He had an empty look in his eye, as if he had lost the will to live.

"Simon...?" She reached for his arm.

...Did he just... _flinch_ at her touch?

Nia felt bewildered for a moment, not sure if she had just imagined it.

He looked at her at last, expression blank. "Sorry," he said, and she wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. He then walked away as Kopoko called him off to somewhere again.

She watched him leave, stunned. Why? Why? It was as if a wide chasm had opened between them, and she had only just realized it.

Then it occured to her. Though she missed the signs the first time, this time, she recognized them. He was distancing himself from her. Almost like her father did just before...before he threw her away.

Nia shook her head, trying to calm herself.

No. No no no. Simon was different. He wasn't her father. She repeated that to herself again and again, but at the same time she couldn't help but sift through the events of the past few days, searching for something that she'd done wrong.

Hugging herself, Nia then sensed a presence beside her.

Nopo stared up at her. "You seem unhappy," he said in his language. "Why are you unhappy? Isn't it wonderful that you are staying? My father says it's wonderful."

She patted him on the head. "No, Nopo. It isn't. It is a very bad thing," she tried to tell him kindly.

Nopo looked puzzled. He didn't seem to understand.

And in that moment, she saw her old self in him. The little girl who only relied on her father, who believed in his every word, knowing nothing else with no thoughts or opinions that were truly her own.

What was she doing? She wasn't that girl anymore.

Nia shook her head again. This was no time to be worrying over things that might not be true. She had to find out what was wrong with Simon.

That's right. Where was Boota? Nia looked around. She had seen him slip away quietly shortly after Simon had accepted the Kumpus' offer, and it seemed he hadn't returned since.

She concentrated on his presence. Yes, maybe he would know what was wrong. After all, he'd known Simon for far longer than she had.

Leaving Nopo, she teleported to where Boota was, which turned out to be back on the beach.

Boota was sitting in the mouth of Gurren's cockpit. He had a bag of tools beside him and was sorting through it, looking over each item and then listlessly tossing it onto the beach below. When she appeared, Nia immediately had to dodge a tool that was falling right toward her.

The tool landed with a soft thunk in the sand, and she fell to her knees beside it. Boota noticed her and set down the tool in his hand.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked at once.

Boota sighed, looking despondent. "...I was afraid this would happen."

"What is 'this'?"

"He wouldn't talk to you?"

Nia nodded.

"He gets like that sometimes. It isn't new."

He jumped down to the beach and began picking up the tools. Nia got back to her feet, blinking at him. Was that all he had to say about it?

"Will he...will he get better?"

"Perhaps. It depends."

"What would it depend on?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "This time, I don't know."

With his arms full of tools, he went on. "Maybe something set him off. Or maybe it's just a combination of everything. Whatever it is, he's made his decision."

Nia took a deep breath. It was painful. "It must be my fault. Oh, I've been so distracted..."

Boota set the tools down in a pile by Gurren-Lagann's feet. He looked back at her with a sympathetic sigh. "No. I failed him too. And maybe it was inevitable, in this situation..."

"But there must be something we can do. If we both keep trying to talk to him, maybe..."

"It wouldn't work. Just...leave him alone for a while. He'll either snap out of it on his own or he won't."

"Is that what you've been doing all this time?"

"It's all that I _can_ do. Believe me, I've tried."

Nia bit her lip. She couldn't accept this somehow. She couldn't just do _nothing_. But what if she did something wrong? What if she made things worse?

Seeing the look on her face, Boota sighed again.

"I'm sorry I'm not of much help. To be honest, right now I don't even want to look at him. After all these years...I'm just sick of seeing him like that."

 

* * *

  

Eventually, she was able to coax Boota to return with her. Even if talking was useless, Nia thought that they should at least stay by Simon's side.

As they entered the clearing, Boota immediately grimaced at the sight of Simon. Nia held onto his arm, afraid that he would leave again, and led him over.

Simon spared the both of them only a glance before going back to a discussion. Nia was stopped before she could get too near, so Boota went on ahead and stood silently behind him, looking grim.

Watching from afar, Nia could now understand how he felt. It _hurt_ to see Simon that way and not be able to do anything about it. Whatever it was that was wrong with him...it spread to the people who cared for him. It affected them, too.

By midday, it seemed they were making plans for another trip. A few vehicles were being prepared for departure and the king got into one of them along with several servants.

Nia saw Simon and Boota speak to each other briefly. For a moment her heart lit up with hope, but in the next moment Simon walked away. Boota was silent for a few seconds, then began cursing. Simon set off in a vehicle with the Kumpus, leaving them behind.

Boota soon came over to her, glaring at any Kumpu that dared get in his way.

"What happened?" Nia asked.

"He said he would be fine on his own." There was a noticeable slump to his shoulders now, and his voice held a hint of shock, reeling from rejection. "Never thought he would say that to _me_..."

So she wasn't the only one Simon was distancing himself from.

The hours inched by slowly. In the king's absence, the remaining Kumpus in the clearing got to work, preparing for a celebratory banquet. Vehicles kicked up dust into the air as they carried supplies to and fro. With all the commotion going on, Nia and Boota moved near the edge of the clearing, where spare logs were stacked in piles.

Boota sat on one of the logs with his head in his hands, and Nia sat with him, not sure what else to do. She was very tempted to just teleport to where Simon was at the moment, but she knew that would be dangerous.

They were mostly ignored by the Kumpus, except for Nopo, who tried approaching a few times and was scared off immediately by a low growl from Boota's throat. Eventually he stopped trying, and went to play by himself.

Nia was in no mood to join him now anyway. What must have Simon been feeling these past few days when she wasn't watching? What did she miss? How was he feeling now?

If only she could know what he was thinking...

But no, that would be just like the Anti-Spiral hivemind. They were separate people with separate thoughts. It was only because they did not always think or feel alike, that made those times that their thoughts and feelings did get through to each other all the more important. It was what made them all unique.

Yes. It was both an advantage and a disadvantage. She'd known this since the first time they met. And no matter how much she thought, she could only come up with one solution. 'Strength in numbers.' If Simon didn't have her or Boota, he was all alone. Alone with his own thoughts and feelings. If they didn't have trust, if they didn't have communication, nothing would change.

But again, doubt hampered her resolve. What if Boota was right? What if she couldn't reach him?

Then Boota spoke up.

"Why do you stay with him?"

"Huh?"

He glanced at her. "I don't understand. You don't want the Spiral Nemesis to happen. So how can you stand being with someone who's barreling towards it without a care?"

It was a question she had asked herself many times already, but only recently had she learned how to explain it. Yes, she knew why now. But did he?

Nia looked at him. "Do _you_ want the Spiral Nemesis to happen?"

"Of course not. I just..." The words slipped out immediately, and for a moment he froze with a muddled expression. "I just...can't imagine _not_ caring about him."

She nodded. Just as she thought.

They lapsed into silence again. Nia looked up at the sky. "Simon..." The day was still far from over.

 

* * *

  

By the time it was evening, Boota felt like he was going out of his mind. The lanterns in the trees were lit, and tables were set all around the clearing, but when the vehicles finally returned, Simon wasn't on any of them.

Nia went to ask the Kumpus about Simon's location, and when she returned, Boota bombarded her with questions of his own. "Well, is he coming back yet? Where is he??"

Nia bit her lip. "They say 'soon.' The king invited Simon to visit- I think- a shrine that is nearby, so they will be returning on foot."

"Great."

He wasn't sure how much he could trust that, but he didn't know where Simon was now anyway so there was nothing he could do. To think that every day could be like this from now on...

Sighing, he turned away from the light and took off his glasses, then fishing a handkerchief from his pocket, restlessly began cleaning them.

Nia watched him for a moment. "Why do you wear those?"

He squinted down at his glasses. "Pigmoles live underground, so our eyes are sensitive to light. I have to wear these to live with humans day to day."

But it seemed he picked a bad time to be cleaning them, because just then, one of the vehicles drove by, and some specks of dust got caught in his eyes.

He flinched his eyes shut in pain, and on reflex he dropped his glasses. He cursed under his breath. Perhaps he was just being paranoid again, but he had to wonder if the Kumpus did that on purpose.

He felt around blindly for his glasses until he heard Nia reach over and pick them up. "Are you all right?" she asked.

His eyes still stung too much to open them. "I've got dust in my eyes." He rubbed at them.

"Oh, I know what to do when that happens! Someone taught me a long time ago. You have to cry them out."

He was silent for a moment. "...I'm not going to _cry_." But his eyes were already watering on their own.

"Why? Is there something wrong with crying?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that. But he found the idea of bawling his eyes out in public distinctly uncomfortable, not to mention unmanly.

He heard Nia come around to sit beside him facing away from the light. She took the handkerchief from his hands. "If you are embarrassed, I can wipe your tears for you. No one will have to see."

That sounded like a rather intimate gesture, but Nia only sounded helpful, and he very well couldn't stay blinded amongst all these Kumpus. So reluctantly, he nodded.

It was surprisingly easy when he got down to it. All he had to do was reflect on the current situation. He tried not to make any embarrassing noises, and sure enough, Nia caught his tears with the handkerchief before they could even start to trail down his cheeks. So it wasn't too bad altogether.

But soon, his feelings couldn't be held back either, and words began to spill from his lips. "...I've been by his side my whole life, you know. He's taken care of me all that time, and I tried my best to return the favor...but more often I've found that all I could do was watch as he suffered through one tragedy after another. I thought that by taking this form, I could at least take some of the pressure off of him. But it wasn't enough. In the end, I'm still only a powerless bystander..."

He didn't expect her to say anything in return. This was already more personal than he felt comfortable with; he couldn't imagine how awkward it must be for her. But after a while, she spoke.

"I don't think that's true. Simon always speaks very fondly of you. I can tell that you are important to him. Maybe not in the same way as me or his Bro, but if people act differently with different people, then I'm sure people can also love different people differently."

Boota tried wrapping his mind around that last sentence; it took a moment before it made any sense. She went on.

"I think it helps a great deal, just to have someone who accepts you. I can understand...there was a beastman who used to take care of me, and I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been with me all those years. It would have been so lonely."

The tears flowed even more freely now. Dammit.

"I think Simon would be much worse now if it weren't for you. And I think he knows that."

For the next few minutes, he let those words sink in as they sat in silence.

Gradually, the pain lessened. He felt that he could open his eyes a little now. He peeked them open. Nia's face swam blearily into view.

She wiped away his remaining tears and put the damp handkerchief back in his hands. Then she held up his glasses.

"There." Gently, she put the glasses back on his face. "See? All better." She smiled at him.

Well. At least now he could understand why Simon liked her so much.

Just then, there was the sound of voices coming from the edge of the clearing. They both turned their heads in time to see Simon, Kopoko, and the king finally emerge from one of the jungle paths.

The moment Simon saw them, he froze in his tracks. An expression of shock marred his face. Then without a word, he turned right around and went crashing back through the jungle.

Nia lowered her hands. "Simon...?"

She wasn't the only one confused. Boota looked to her, then to the jungle Simon had disappeared into, then back to her. Then it dawned on him. They were sitting rather closely now. And just a minute ago, her hands had been on his face.

Oh...god, NO.

Boota leapt to his feet. But Simon was already long gone.

Nia still looked confused. "I don't understand. Why did he leave?"

Boota felt like tearing his hair out. "He thinks that you...we...!"

She blinked.

He threw his hands up in the air. "He thinks that _we're_ together now!"

It took a while for her to get it, but when she did, her face turned pale. "But...but that's not right...!"

"That's why we have to chase him now, come on!" He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her along into the trees, ignoring whatever Kopoko tried to say them.

They couldn't find Simon on the path, and from the disturbed vegetation, it seemed he was just ploughing mindlessly through in no particular direction. Nia teleported from his grasp and appeared a short distance away, pointing. "This way!"

They finally found Simon up ahead and ran to catch up with him, both of them trying to explain the situation, speaking over each other in their haste.

"Simon, wait, I can explain—“

"I swear, it's not what it looks—"

"I was only trying to—"

"You know I wouldn't dare—"

"—and you came at such a bad time—"

"—even if I wanted to, which I _don't_ —"

Simon ignored them, trying to shake them off by turning sharply in new directions, but Nia kept teleporting in front of him each time.

Finally, Simon shouted, "QUIET!"

They all came to an abrupt stop.

Simon was breathing heavily, face turned downward, expression obscured by his bangs and the darkness of the jungle.

"...Leave me alone."

He turned and went stomping through the brush in a different direction.

They watched him go. At a loss, Boota slammed his fist against a tree. "Damn...DAMMIT!" There was no getting to him now.

Nia seemed to be on the verge of tears. But when he looked again, this time her eyes were resolute. "I'm going to him."

He'd had his doubts before, but now...maybe she could do it. Yes, if there was anyone who could get to Simon now...

"All right." He turned back.

Nia blinked. "Where are you...?"

"I'll take care of the Kumpus." He gave her shoulder a little shove. "Just go."

She nodded, then disappeared a second later.

Boota sighed, and began making his way back. Thinking over it, he couldn't help but find it suspicious. If Simon had seen them even a second sooner or later, their poses wouldn't have been nearly as incriminating. Could it really have been coincidence that he happened to arrive at that precise moment?

The closer he got to the clearing, the more infuriated he became. It was bad enough that Simon was injured. It was bad enough that he felt helpless and had no direction. But to see him heartbroken on top of that was more than he could take.

Boota cracked his knuckles. Yes, it was _their_ fault. And he would see to it that they paid for it.

 

* * *

  

Nia followed Simon to the beach, where she found him sitting a few feet away from the trees. His body was still, but she could sense that his Spiral Power was fluctuating agitatedly.

She approached cautiously, careful that her footsteps made no sound on the sand.

For a moment, she hesitated. He was obviously upset. He wanted to be left alone. If she bothered him now, he might lash out again. But she could take it. This was no time to be alone.

She had made it about ten steps behind him when he suddenly glanced back at her. "I can feel you, remember?"

"Oh."

He turned away again.

She sat down next to him. Simon didn't protest. He didn't say anything, just stared at the horizon while absentmindedly running his hands through the sand.

There was only one way to begin. "Boota and I...we aren't...together, like you and I are."

A minute later, Simon answered quietly. "I believe you."

"You do?" Nia blinked. Well, that was solved rather easily. Which was a relief, but... "Then why did you become upset?" Had Boota been wrong?

Simon let out a deep sigh, looking away. "It just...reminded me of something."

"What did it remind you of?"

He stared down at the sand, mouth shut. When he didn't answer, Nia took a guess.

"Was it Yoko?"

He turned back to her, wide-eyed.

So she was right.

"How did you...?"

"I talked to her once, before we left the battleship."

"You...what...?"

Now she had his undivided attention.

So Nia told him.

 

* * *

  

It was back when they were making their escape. Nia had first made sure that the way to the hangar was clear of any threat, then hacked into the communication channel to make their intents clear to the crew. After that, she had been ready to head to the hangar herself, when something occurred to her. Oh...doors...

At once, she teleported to the nearest computer room. Putting her hands on the computer, she closed her eyes and began hacking into the system, trying to pinpoint the location of any doors that stood in the way of the hangar. Yes, there was one. If she could just get that open...

But then she felt a presence behind her, and Nia turned just in time to zap a pistol out of someone's hand.

It was that woman, Yoko, on a makeshift cot on the other side of the room. She had one hand on her bandaged abdomen, and seemed to be in pain just trying to sit up. Now disarmed, she could only growl, "What are you trying to pull?"

"Only as I've said," Nia answered coolly. "We want to leave. Do not try to stop us." She turned her attention back to the computer.

But her concentration was broken again by what Yoko said next.

"You're seriously in love with him, aren't you?"

Nia froze. ...Love? Yes, that word sounded familiar. She had a faint idea of what it meant, but...what did Yoko mean by that? Was that what she felt for Simon?

Confused, she turned to look at Yoko. "...I..."

Gingerly, Yoko lay herself back down. "I've been thinking over what I saw that day. It sure didn't look like an act. It was too _raw_." She glanced at Nia. "But of all people, I never thought the Anti-Spiral Messenger would be that stupid."

Nia frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yoko smirked a little. "He doesn't tell you much, does he?" The look on her face was hard to identify. Was it...pity? Or sympathy?

"He's told me many things," Nia said defensively.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It must be easier with someone who doesn't know about the past. He can pick and choose what to tell. How convenient for him." And now her expression turned bitter.

Nia hesitated. She thought she had seen that sort of expression before...on Simon. 'Know about the past'? Boota said Yoko was an 'old friend.' But Simon seemed reluctant to talk about her. He had even been afraid she would become like Yoko.

And then there was that word...'love.' When had she last heard it? It was soon after she and Simon first met. Yes, and now she could place that look on him. It was after he had said...

_"Then do you know how it feels to love someone..."_

Suddenly, threads were connecting in Nia's mind.

But she was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of voices in the hall. That's right, this was no time to be thinking. Right now their lives were on the line.

Quickly, she checked back with the computer, and found that the door to the hangar was now open. Had they found some way to open it? Then they were already in the hangar...Simon would be waiting for her.

Noticing she was about to leave, Yoko spoke up again.

"I'll give you some advice. Don't think you know him just because you care for him. You'll end up getting hurt that way."

Nia gave her one last cold glare as she teleported from the room. "I did not ask for your advice."

 

* * *

  

Simon gaped at her, as if the fact that this had transpired, without him knowing all this time, had just blown his mind.

"Wait...so..." He shook his head, as if trying to make sense of something. "That time you asked whether I act how I do with you with anyone else..."

She remembered. "And you answered, 'No. You're the only one.'"

"Yeah, that... You actually _believed_ me?"

She tilted her head. "Were you lying?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Then what is the problem?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "You didn't think to doubt what I said after what Yoko told you?"

Nia sighed. "It's only natural that I don't know you as well as I'd like. We haven't known each other for very long. But I won't learn anything more if I doubt everything that you tell me. So I've decided...I don't want to fear what I don't know."

Simon shook his head in disbelief.

But of course, that didn't mean she wasn't curious. Nia asked him directly. "What happened between you and her?"

"N-nothing happened," he spluttered reflexively.

She didn't even _need_ to doubt that. "I'm not stupid, Simon."

That shut him up. He hung his head in defeat.

"Did you love her?"

"...I thought I did."

And this time it was his turn to tell a story. About how he had once harbored a crush on Yoko, but then found out that she loved his Bro instead. And that shock of seeing them together was was what led him to finally losing his Bro.

"I was young and stupid. She was the first girl who was ever really nice to me, you know? I thought she liked me back. Turns out, it was all in my head."

Nia nodded. Now all the pieces were falling into place.

"Then years later, she starts coming onto me, and just when I think she finally sees me as a _man_ , suddenly it's like all she wants to talk about is _him_." He wrung a handful of sand tightly in his fist. "What was I supposed to say? That I killed my Bro because of her? What the hell did she even want from me?"

Finally, he released the sand from his fist, but there were still grains of it sticking to his palm.

He sighed. "She's right, though. You _don't_ really know me. And she had every right to try putting me out of my misery."

Those words only made Nia feel more unsettled. It brought to mind a question she had asked him before, which he avoided answering.

She asked it again. "Simon...do you want to die?"

This time, he answered. "Yes."

Knowing that he was speaking honestly didn't help to ease the breaking of her heart.

He went on, unbidden. "I've been wanting to die for the past ten years, actually. But it's just never happened. Funny how that works, huh? People seem to die so easily whatever I do, but here I am still. The universe is a fucking joke."

He laughed. "Your father actually looked surprised when I told him I didn't give a crap about being immortal. Who the hell would want that? It didn't make _him_ feel any better. But of course, I _can't_ die now. Not with you depending on me. But who knows how long that'll last."

He faltered a little. "You know, when I made that promise...I wasn't even sure I could do it. I'm still not sure. I've been leading you on all this time, just talking out of my ass, out of some stupid hope that maybe, for once, fate will deal me a card that doesn't just make a damn farce out of everything in my life. And look where that got us.

"That's how weak I am. I've always been weak. That won't change no matter how much Spiral Power I have." He smiled self-depreciatingly. "I mean, what's the point of being able to do anything if I can't do anything _right?_ "

At last, he glanced at her. "Well, there you have it. Now you know. I've been wasting your goddamn time and you're better off forgetting about me."

Nia had been listening silently, but now she couldn't help but speak up. "...It's much too late for that." How could she possibly forget him now?

He slumped forward. "I know." After a moment, he spoke up again, looking at her regretfully. "You were my last chance not to screw up."

All of that doubt she'd seen only glimpses of until now was out in full. Her hunch was right. He _didn't_ believe in himself.

The part of her that was still undeniably Anti-Spiral nagged at her, _you should have known this was coming_ , but Nia shook that away again.

She remembered all those times he had supported her, pulled her back into the light, and the strength she had found in him then. She couldn't believe all of that was a lie. No, the moments of strength and moments of weakness were all part of the same person, coexisting in a contradictory state. All of that, together, was what brought them where they were today.

Nia wiped her tears, shaking her head. "You haven't failed yet. I still believe in you."

"You're out of your mind." He turned away again.

She swallowed hard, struggling to be calm. When she next spoke, she somehow managed to return her voice to normal.

"Simon, didn't you tell me that you and your Bro believed in each other? I didn't believe in anything until I met you. But now...look." She took his hand and squeezed. "See? I've come this far. You taught me not to give up, that it's okay to be myself. You taught me that it's not too late to live."

For a second, Nia thought she felt his fingers start to close over her hand, but then he abruptly pulled it back out of her grasp.

She still wasn't getting through to him. Panic started bubbling inside her. No. She couldn't lose him.

She started rambling now, pouring out her heart, not sure whether her words made sense or not.

"You were right, in the beginning, when you said I didn't know about humans. I'm sure there's still a lot I don't know, but knowing you for as long as I have, I've already learned many things. If this feeling is 'love,' then it's much more complicated than just instinct. It's so easy to fall into, but it can be difficult to bear. It can be painful. It's been so long since I lost my father and you lost your Bro, and yet we still hurt. It can hurt so much, but we can't stop...and I don't want to stop."

Simon sat there, still as stone, not saying anything, but listening. Still listening.

"Simon. I regret many things, but meeting you is not one of them. I can't express how happy I am that I met you, and how lucky I am, because Manuku...he didn't have someone like you. Someone who could be patient, who would _listen_. Someone so strong and fragile at the same time, so easy and hard to understand. Someone able to care enough to keep trying again and again, even if it's not easy, even if it seems impossible. You only found me because you _cared_ , and so it's that caring heart that I believe in."

"I'm not..." Simon spoke finally, voice rasping. He shook his head. "You're just seeing things that aren't there."

"I don't think I am. Because that is exactly what I told myself when you saw me, the real me, and I thought you were wrong."

She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look in her eyes. "Tell me," she said pleadingly. "Were you wrong?"

He gave her a look— an almost _pained_ look— and suddenly gathered her in his arms, clutching her as if his life depended on it. His fingers tightened in her hair. "No," he choked out.

Nia let out a deep sigh of relief. Reassured, she gripped his back firmly, tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

But the moment didn't last long.

An explosion rocked the night, shaking the ground.

The two of them pulled back and saw fire reflected in each others' eyes.

"What was that...?" Simon asked.

They both looked back toward the trees, and saw a column of flame rising from somewhere in the jungle. Winged creatures flew crying from the area, becoming lost in the smoke.

"He said he would take care of them..." Nia whispered, remembering Boota's words.

Simon's eye widened, growing into an expression of fear. "...Boota..."

And before she knew it, he was back on his feet and running.

 

* * *

  

Boota hadn't gone in with any sort of plan. He started with spouting off some accusations, and before long, he'd completely lost his head. He was particularly proud of having landed a punch on Kopoko with a resounding _crack_ before things went south.

But proportionally, the Kumpus' reaction was complete overkill.

He knew he should run for cover when they drew their handguns, and there was enough to hide behind for a while, but he didn't expect them to start bringing out the heavy artillery as well. He was taking cover behind a vehicle, trying to think of a way to defend himself, when he caught sight of them hauling something resembling a rocket launcher from one of the supply crates.

In no time, they were testing out the weapon on the very vehicle he was hiding behind, blowing it to kingdom come. He would have gone up with it if he hadn't dived out of the way in time, and now he sat crouched behind a stack of logs, fur singed, trying not to give away his position by coughing on the smoke.

Behind him, Boota could hear the Kumpus cheering and clapping appreciatively. He also heard an electric whine as they prepared the weapon to fire again. He glanced at the burning heap of scrap metal that used to be one of the vehicles and knew that, even if he got lucky again, with a few more blasts there wouldn't be any places left to hide.

Well, it wasn't all bad. At least Simon was well out of sight—

Something burst out of the bushes a few feet away. "BOOTA!" It was Simon.

Boota quickly glanced back and saw that the Kumpus' weapon was in Simon's blind spot. The whine grew to a pitch.

"SIMON, GET DOWN!" he yelled.

Another explosion, as the blast from the weapon took out a number of trees, leaving a sizeable hole in the side of the jungle. At first, Boota was too smothered by smoke and falling embers to see what happened to Simon, and for a second he feared the worst, but then he felt something scrambling up next to him, coughing.

"Are you okay?!" they asked simultaneously.

"A little worse for wear, but no injuries," Boota answered.

"Same here, aside from this," Simon said, pointing to his bandages, and Boota was never so relieved to see that sardonic smile on him again.

"The fuck was that anyway?"

Before Boota could explain, Nia suddenly appeared before them.

"Shit!" Simon dragged her down beside him. "Didn't I tell you to stay behind?!"

"You didn't, and even if you did, I wouldn't."

Simon started to retort, but Boota silenced him. "Shh. I think they're saying something."

They listened. From beyond the crackling of flames, they could hear the voice of the king.

"He's calling off the attack," Nia explained.

Kopoko's voice soon followed, calling out to them. "Great Destroyer, our many apologies! Please, do not hide any longer! We do not mean to harm you!"

"The hell you don't!" Simon called back. "You nearly killed us!"

"An accident, I assure you! We did not expect you to return here so suddenly! We are disarming our weapons as I speak!"

Simon frowned. He stood up. "Are you apologizing for nearly killing _me_ or the both of us?"

Kopoko opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

"I thought you said you wouldn't hurt him?"

"Ah...I said we would not harm your Messenger, but I do not recall ever promising such a thing for your friend."

"Bullshit!" Simon snarled. "What the hell happened here?!"

Kopoko flinched. "A-apologies, Great Destroyer! I tried very much to tell them to stop firing, you see, but the king's life was in danger! They could not help wanting to protect him! If your friend did not try to kill our king, they would have never started retaliating."

"Liar! I didn't put a hand on your king!" Boota snapped, jumping to his feet. "Your 'retaliation' was totally uncalled for!"

"I promise you, he is the one who is lying!" Kopoko exclaimed, pointing to the bruise on his cheek. "He attacked us first!"

Simon glanced at Boota. " _Did_ you attack them first?"

"Well...yes," Boota admitted. "I did rough them up a little. But I certainly didn't try to _kill_ anyone, let alone their king!"

Simon nodded. "Okay." He stepped over the stack of logs and began walking over to the Kumpus.

Kopoko looked dismayed. "But-but he has no evidence to back his claim!"

"Well, call me biased, but I'd rather believe him than you." Simon continued walking past Kopoko, the Kumpus making a path as he made his way through them, heading straight for the king. No one realized what he was doing until Simon suddenly drew his sword, putting the tip right up against the king's throat.

The crowd froze. The king stiffened as well, whiskers bristling, eyes staring nervously down at the sword.

Kopoko spluttered. "G-Great Destroyer, what are you...I do not think that is needed..."

Simon ignored him. "Now tell me again. Did he, or did he not, attempt to kill your king?" he asked, as if he weren't threatening to kill the king himself right then.

The king mumbled something to Kopoko, who sighed, finally giving in. "N...no, in truth, he did not. ...But you must understand, what we did was _necessary!_ "

Simon was silent for a moment. Then, his voice lowered dangerously, he said, "Spill it. I want to hear everything."

Kopoko seemed hesitant, but the king was glaring at him, so he complied.

"...The truth is, we were a slight...puzzled upon our first contact with you, Great Destroyer. Y-you see, our legends never spoke of the Great Destroyer having any companions. It was very much heartening to learn that you had seduced a Messenger, of course, but it presented us a problem, as it did become quickly apparent that your companions were holding you back from reaching your full potential. Yes, we knew that in order to bring the Spiral Nemesis, you must be _freed_ of all frivolous distractions!"

Simon's shoulders twitched.

"Our only solution was to gradually withdraw you from their presence, until you will find you have no need of them anymore. And so we installed a listening device inside of your garment, and learned of many things in this way."

Boota scowled. The damn _coat_. So they _were_ being spied on. He was only off on the method.

"As we listened, we found you were already very close to where we have needed you to be, and your vulnerabilities were quite easy to take advantage of. We also came to realize which among your companions were most dangerous to us, and this was easy to maneuver as well. As we know, bonds are easily severed in times of distress. It was only a matter of timing to arrange such an event. Afterwards, all that was left was to stage an accident, and your friend was only too eager to offer us an opportunity."

Kopoko nodded to himself as he spoke, not seeming to notice that the sword in Simon's hand was now shaking.

"But in the end, only half was our own doing. We could not create the circumstances that have come to us. All we are needed to do is _nudge_ in bringing things to our favor. As after all, as legend states, _you_ must come to _us!_ For who are you if not the Great Destroyer? The signs point to only one truth: _this_ is your destiny!"

SHING!

The king's severed head flew off into the distance, bouncing off the trunk of a tree with a clonk and then rolling into the bushes.

There was a burst of blood from the king's neck, followed by the body toppling over.

"I've heard enough."

Simon's words were soft, but filled with quiet fury, echoing in the silence following their collective gasp. As Simon lowered his sword, they could see his entire body trembling, and then everyone knew that he had been pushed into dangerous territory.

"You know, I never wanted any of this. Spiral Power? Spiral Nemesis?" He laughed. "I used to be happy just to have someone who'd talk to me."

He took a deep breath and went on, sounding delirious. "That's right, back then...all I was, was a kid digging holes. How does a kid like that become a 'Great Destroyer'? Isn't that crazy? Who decides that?

"Maybe it's true. Maybe I really don't have a choice in all this. But then again...what's holding me back?" He stared at the blood running down the blade of his sword. It gathered at the tip and dripped to the ground. "What if I _didn't_ choose to kill just now? It would have been just as easy. What's stopping me from killing myself here and now? What would happen then? What if I killed _everyone_ here? Is that all in the plan too?"

He looked around as if in a daze. The crowd was deathly silent. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

"If each decision leads to a different outcome...maybe there could be a world where none of this ever happens. Maybe _this_ doesn't have to be the only result. But does that make this world the right one, or the wrong one? What happened? What made them different? Is it all up to chance..." His grip tightened on the sword. "...Or is it all up to _choice?_ "

When he finally turned around again, they saw that his gaze had strengthened as well. He held the sword in front of him, firelight gleaming on the blade.

"Who am I? _Who the hell do you think I am?_ I'm no Great Destroyer, or anything like that. And whoever thinks differently should know that they _chose the wrong man!_ " He shouted the last part to the sky, his voice reverberating throughout the clearing.

He then lowered his head, teeth clenched. "Simon the Digger. That's all I am. And I...will not...be _used!_ " And with those words, he swung the sword with a flourish, sending blood splattering across the faces of the onlooking Kumpus.

Finally, Simon took a moment to breathe, beads of sweat rolling down his face, as if that speech had exhausted him. Then, just as abruptly as he'd come, he began walking back through the crowd towards the jungle. Boota and Nia could only continue to stare at him as he passed by, and jumped as he suddenly called back to them.

"We're done here. Let's go."

They exchanged an uncertain glance, then followed.

 

* * *

  

The next morning, Kopoko came to meet them on the beach.

They had just finished putting out the fire and gathering all of their supplies. Gurren-Lagann stood waiting for them to board, waves licking its feet. Kopoko saw this, and no doubt understood what it meant, but he seemed to pay it no mind, greeting them as if nothing had happened.

"Good morning to you, Great Destroyer! Have you had a nice sleep?"

Boota cracked his knuckles, eager to add another bruise on the Kumpu's face, but Simon held up his hand as if to say 'I'll take care of this.'

As Kopoko approached, Simon wordlessly took something out of his pocket, holding it up between his thumb and index finger. It was a tiny device, about the size of a flea.

Kopoko's face fell slightly. "Ah...I see you have found our listening device."

They had spent the rest of the night silently looking over every stitch of Simon's coat in search of the bug, finally discovering it hidden along the left sleeve's inside hem.

But this, too, did not deter him. "No worry! If you do not want it attached, then you may have as you wish! We will operate finely without it. Now, as for our discussions from yesterday, the battleship is still in well working order. We think it would be ready to depart at any—"

SNAP. Simon crushed the bug between his fingers. "I thought I made it clear last night that the deal is off."

Kopoko blinked. "I do not recall that ever being said."

"I _killed your king_ , remember?"

Kopoko looked ecstatic. "Yes! It was marvelous! We have been celebrating his demise all night and morning! It has now become a dream among each Kumpu, being destroyed by your hands! If you would now come with me, King Takuka Pono Ponpom the Fourth would like to give you dearest thanks for bestowing such an honor to his late father."

Simon's eye twitched. He turned away, shaking his head in disgust, and motioned to Boota and Nia. "Let's get out of here."

As they headed to Gurren-Lagann, Kopoko ran after them, finally looking distressed. "Ah, Great Destroyer! Where are you going?!"

"Didn't you hear me? We're _leaving_."

"But-but where will you go from now? What will you do?!"

"I don't know." Simon paused, looking towards the sunrise. "...Guess I'll just have to think about it."

Smiling, Nia slipped her hand into his, and he gently squeezed hers back. Nodding, he turned to say one last thing to Kopoko.

"You should be grateful that you're still alive. I'm only sparing you for Nopo's sake. Remember that."

They left Kopoko standing on the beach as they soared off into the sky, space, and the unknown future ahead. They did not spare another glance back.


	15. Breakthrough (Part 1)

Simon, Nia, and Boota stood in the ruins of a stone palace, looking out a window expectantly after having received a message only minutes before. It was a quiet afternoon, with only the cries of creatures in the treetops below echoing into the overcast sky above.

Then they heard a rumble of something that wasn't thunder, and as they watched, three streaks of light descended from the clouds in the distance.

"So they came after all," Simon sighed in relief.

In the seven weeks since they left the Kumpus, while jumping from planet to planet, Simon had been in a very quiet, thoughtful mood. He hadn't fully let them into his thoughts until well over a week ago, when he suddenly announced his plan.

Boota glanced at Simon. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

For Simon, if joining the Kumpus was the easiest choice, then surely this was the most difficult.

He looked reluctant, but still, he didn't take his gaze away from the distant streaks of light. "Yeah."

 

* * *

 

They landed their Gunmen by the edge of the forest, on the outskirts of the overgrown palace grounds.

Yoko kicked over a small statue choked with moss. "These are the right coordinates?"

Gimmy nodded. "They should be."

"Then where the hell is he?" Kittan grumbled.

Yoko sighed. "Does he expect us to find him?" This really was starting to smell like a trap...

Kittan said nothing more, simply loading his shotgun. Likewise, Yoko wielded her rifle, ready to fire at any sign of movement. Gimmy called back to the ship waiting in orbit, warning them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

Then cautiously, they approached the stone ruins.

 

* * *

  

During Simon's escape from the Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren, the ship had taken serious damage from the Anti-Spirals' attack. They just managed to escape in time themselves, and for the next eight weeks, it was all they could do just to avoid trouble while doing repairs and gathering resources. Luckily, it seemed the Anti-Spirals had made hunting Simon down their number one priority rather than finishing them off, and they managed not to run into any other Spiral races.

Not that things were totally uneventful. In fact, there were several significant developments.

The first was deciding the new leadership. After the chaos had settled down and wounds were tended to, they'd decided to hold a vote amongst the remaining crew.

The results were split in thirds.

One third had voted for Kittan. But he declined right away, reminding them of the lousy job he'd done as leader back in the old days.

"But you've matured a lot since then," Yoko reminded him.

Kittan turned a little red, but waved his hands. "Nah, it's just not for me."

Another third of the vote had been for Yoko. And though she felt grateful, she was reluctant to accept too. In particular, the incident with the Erlithians stayed in her mind. Despite how she'd besieged Simon over it, he was right; if she were in his position, she wasn't sure how she would have handled it. The responsibility was overwhelming. And besides, she would be restricted to bed rest for at least a month due to her injury anyway.

The last third of the vote went to Gimmy. Though the votes were all anonymous, it was plain to see that the younger members of the crew had all voted for him.

Gimmy was flabbergasted. "But...but I can't lead! Not the whole ship!"

"They trust you, Gimmy. That trust means something."

"I'm only eighteen!"

"Kamina was seventeen when he became leader. Simon was even younger."

Gimmy's mouth dropped open. He was so young back then, everyone else must have seemed like adults in comparison.

Still, they could see he didn't have the confidence to accept yet either. So in the end, they settled for a triumvirate.

They immediately ordered for a thorough investigation to figure out what exactly Simon had been up to and how the Anti-Spiral Messenger was involved. The first step involved questioning the Lord Genome Head, and what they learned from this, though not entirely unexpected after what Yoko had witnessed, still took them all by surprise.

But it did little to quell their anger. Even if Simon's motivations were far less heinous than they had imagined, that didn't erase the fact that his _actions_ were nothing less than completely irresponsible, and in many eyes, inexcusable.

In any case, what was done was done, and they could only try to move forward. But deciding that direction proved just as difficult as before. At least when they were fighting the Beastmen, they still had a goal in their sights, even if they'd lost Kamina. But with the location of the Anti-Spirals' home planet still unknown to them, there was nothing immediate that they could do. Even when Simon was still captain, they were really only wandering the galaxy in search of a goal.

Yet while they were fortunate that the Anti-Spirals were preoccupied at the moment, they couldn't continue hiding forever; their job was to fight. And no doubt the other Spiral races were growing stronger as well the more time passed...

So as they deliberated, yet another development occurred, three weeks after Simon made his escape. They suddenly received a transmission from the colony. "Hiii there~" "Leeron?!" This was completely unexpected. After all, the agreement had been to cease all contact between the ship and the colony. So for him to be contacting them now...

"Did something happen to the colony?!"

"Oh, no, nothing serious! This isn't an official transmission, I'm doing this on my own time. I wanted to check up on how you were doing."

They all sighed in relief. "But...Leeron, you know that violates the rules of the agreement..."

"Don't worry, I know how to cover my tracks~"

"But if you get caught..."

"Just let me worry about that if it happens." Leeron winked at them through the video monitor. "You know that my curiosity simply can't be contained!" Then, a little more seriously, "And besides, to be quite frank, if I weren't so needed here, I would have loved to come with you."

Yoko recalled how he had been the first to decide to follow Kamina and Simon as they went to fight the Beastmen, and couldn't begrudge him that sentiment.

Leeron went on. "Since you left, my orders were to monitor your activities, and recently I've noticed that things have quieted down quite a bit...no action for over three weeks!" He clicked his tongue. "Did anything happen?"

So he'd noticed that something was amiss.

"We tried to kill Simon."

Leeron sat back in his chair with a sigh. "So it came to that after all, did it?"

Kittan's anger flared up. "Bastard, if you knew this would happen, why didn't you tell us?! We _lost_ people! If we knew what the hell we were getting into..."

"You would have mutinied sooner? I'm sorry, dear. All information involving the Spiral races banding together was classified." Leeron shook his head sadly. "And honestly, I did hope that Simon would come to his senses before things got too out of hand..."

Yoko and Gimmy shared a glance. "Actually, about that..."

They explained the whole unbelievable story to him, about the failed assassination, Simon's escape, and his relationship with the Anti-Spiral Messenger.

"Now this _is_ an intriguing development!" Leeron sat up in excitement, as if he'd just gotten an earful of some prime gossip.

"You look hopeful."

"Of course I am! Our boy is in _love!_ Don't you see, this changes everything!"

They gave him a dubious look.

Leeron rubbed his hands together. "And the Anti-Spiral Messenger...hmm, yes...very interesting...changes many things indeed..."

After that initial contact, Leeron decided to limit his transmissions to an hour per week to avoid being found out. Though he couldn't help them with anything directly, his advice was often valuable, and it was comforting just to hear from someone on the colony again. They missed those monthly reports more than they thought.

Then finally, just a couple of days ago, they received a message from Simon himself. It had come from the other side of the galaxy, and had included coordinates for a specific location on a specific planet, along with the words, "I want to talk."

At first, they looked at it with suspicion. According to their records, that planet had once belonged to a Spiral race, but it seemed they had died out hundreds of years ago, leaving the planet void of intelligent life. That meant it most likely wasn't under close watch by the Anti-Spirals anymore. Whatever he was planning, he'd chosen his location well.

They discussed it at length.

"It has to be a trap. What could he possibly have to say to us now?"

"Well, what would he stand to gain from talking to people who tried to kill him?"

"Maybe he wants to take revenge for his eye. Or maybe he plans to combine with the ship and steal it from us when we're not paying attention."

Both sounded likely. Not only that, but there were many among the crew who were still very bitter about their former captain. There also seemed to be some who approved of meeting with him, but they were decidedly less outspoken.

For a while, they were leaning towards not going, until Leeron finally had his word.

"You're at a loss for what to do, aren't you? Why not hear him out? Who knows, it could lead to something."

"Like what?"

"How should I know~? But wouldn't _something_ be preferable to nothing?"

He had a point. So, though it was against the majority opinion, they decided to go after all.

Now they found themselves slowly winding through the halls of the abandoned palace, wondering whether they had been set up for something or if Simon had merely changed his mind. The walls towered around them, worn and covered in vines, though they could still make out traces of fearsome spiral eyes and bared teeth from the surviving murals and carvings.

Finally, they came to what once must have been a grand throne room, and there they found him, sitting on the crumbling stone throne with his legs crossed and face rested on his hand, looking for all the world like he owned the place. The Anti-Spiral Messenger sat beside him on the arm of the throne and Taboo stood nearby.

At the sight of the Messenger, Kittan immediately tensed up. Yoko, seeing Simon for the first time since the assassination attempt, couldn't help but shudder herself. His fiery visage had become a regular figment of her nightmares. She could almost smell the blood again.

"You finally made it," Simon said. "Well done."

"Enough with the games. What do you want?" Gimmy asked.

"Like I said, I want to talk, that's all. See, we're unarmed."

Coming from anyone else, that could have been comforting, but they knew very well that both he and the Messenger were dangerous even unarmed. They didn't lower their weapons.

Simon shrugged. "Suit yourselves. So first...how much do you know?"

"Everything. We've heard it all-- that the Messenger was once Lord Genome's daughter, that she left the Anti-Spirals, and that you were trying to free her from them."

"Good." He nodded. "That makes things easier."

Right then, Yoko felt like screaming at him. All of the hurt and anger welled up inside her again. Why couldn't he have just told them all of that himself?! But she tried to keep her emotions in check. She was there as a leader. This wasn't the time to get personal. So she grit her teeth, keeping her voice level.

"Actually, there's still something we haven't completely figured out, so maybe you could enlighten us. What were your motives _before_ you met her? Did you really intend on starting the Spiral Nemesis?"

Simon folded his hands, thinking for a moment before answering. "...Yeah, I guess you could say that. I didn't care what would happen, and that seemed to be the direction I was being pulled toward. Until I met Nia, anyway."

So it was as she suspected. He just didn't care. And yet the Messenger had changed that? To what extent? If Leeron's words were true...

Yoko looked at the Messenger. Seeing her here now, wearing that same stoic expression, she found it hard to believe how anything in her could make Simon care, let alone bring about any change. After all, she'd never gotten anywhere with him herself, not even with all that trying...

The Messenger, realizing then that she was being stared at, calmly turned to stare right back. Yoko shuddered again under that alien gaze, recalling the feel of cold arms around her neck. Did she even have a pulse...?

Kittan spoke up. "So lemme get this straight...while we were out there risking our lives, you were acting selfishly the whole damn time?" he growled.

Simon raised an eyebrow. "'Selfish'? I've been taken advantage of nearly my whole life-- dig here, fight that, help us, save us. I've given you everything I have without reaping any benefits. And now that there's finally something that I want, you call me selfish?"

"When you put your own needs and wants before those of all others, then yes, we consider that selfish." Yoko turned back to him, narrowing her eyes. "You're not the only one who's been suffering."

He sat back with a small laugh. "Well said. Fine, in that case, call me whatever you want. After all, in the eyes of the Anti-Spirals, you're selfish just wanting to survive. If it's selfish to live, then I will be selfish. I'll be as selfish as I need."

Gimmy stomped his foot impatiently. "Let's just get this over with. What did you want to talk to us about?"

"Well, there's a lot I want to get off my chest. For starters, this situation that we're in. Doesn't it remind you of anything?"

Remind them of what? They didn't say anything, so Simon went on. "Remember that time you dumped me off at some village after Bro died? The circumstances aren't exactly the same, but how I felt about it is close enough."

And then for the first time, they heard his side of the story.

"I had no hope left. Bro was dead, you'd all left me, and now even Lagann wouldn't move for me anymore. The villagers mostly ignored me. Only Boota was still at my side. There was nothing I could think of doing, and even if I tried, I knew I'd fail. I wanted to die. I didn't deserve to live."

He sighed, closing his eye in remembrance.

"But I still got back on my feet, didn't I? That's why we're all here, why all of this even happened. It wasn't until I saw that live broadcast set up by the Beastmen. You'd made it as far as Teppelin, but now you were all being decimated. It really seemed like that was the end of the Dai-Gurren Brigade."

They fidgeted, recalling memories of that desperate battle. All the people they had lost back then...

"I'd always wondered why, at that moment, Lagann decided to move again. And I think I understand now. As I saw everything my Bro fought for, _died for_...falling to pieces...I couldn't stand it. It was like losing him all over again. And right then, I wanted to live. Even if it proved useless, if I could just have the power to fight one more time, to do _anything_ to keep his dream from dying, I swore I would live. And then...Lagann answered me."

He opened his eye and this time stared up at the ceiling as he recounted the rest of it.

"It was like I'd made a deal with fate. And that was the only thing that kept me going for the next seven years until...well, you know. It was because I had fought that day that the Earth was doomed. Fate betrayed me. At that point, I was ready to give up again. But then I thought, screw fate. If there wasn't a point to anything, what did it matter if the Spiral Nemesis happened? I'd at least go down fighting, like Bro would want. And from then on, I was fighting only out of pure spite. But that was probably what fate had in mind for me all along..."

He fell silent after that, leaving them to juxtapose in their minds this account with the Simon they thought they knew all along. Despite herself, Yoko felt that old pang of regret again, of what-if's and too-late's. If he had been this open before...

Finally, Kittan said, sounding a little uncomfortable, "Wouldya just get to the point?"

Simon looked down at them again with a smirk. "All right. Say, how have you been doing since I left? Made any progress?"

The question caught them off guard, and grudgingly, they found themselves unable to answer. They would have to admit that they weren't making progress at all.

"Thought so. I haven't gotten very far either. But I _have_ been doing a lot of thinking, and it made me realize something: We need each other. Think back to the battle at Teppelin. You couldn't have won that battle without me, and I couldn't have won it alone either. It's the same now as it was then. If we don't work together, none of us will get what we want."

So _that_ was what he was after. Suspicion clouded Yoko's thoughts again. Who did he think he was, to come crawling back to them after everything that had happened?

"We're _not_ taking you back as our leader," she said.

"Good, because that's not what I'm suggesting. I don't plan on speaking for anyone. Instead, I propose a temporary partnership."

Now this really took them by surprise.

"You need my help and I need yours. It's as simple as that. But this time, we'll be honest with each other. No more lies, no more secrets. We won't be using each other; instead, it will be an equal trade. If you hold up your end of the bargain, then so will I. And once we've all gotten what we wanted, I'll be on my way again."

Yoko could hardly believe the words coming from his mouth. Was this really the same person?

"What _do_ you want exactly?" Gimmy asked.

"Resources. I was looking for a way to save Nia; that still hasn't changed. I want full use of the Lord Genome Head and lodging on the ship for the three of us in the meantime."

"Okay, but how about us? We weren't making much progress even when you were still leader. How would things be different if you came back now?"

"Easy. Now, I have the Anti-Spiral Messenger on my side."

They gasped. Of course. Why didn't they realize it before?

The Messenger spoke. "I know the location of the Anti-Spiral home world. I can lead you straight to them."

"And then we can finally settle things once and for all. I'll even do the hard part and destroy them for you. But on one condition: I'll only defeat the Anti-Spirals _after_ I've saved Nia."

"That's bullshit!" Kittan blurted.

"That's my bargain. Take it or leave it."

It was preposterous. It meant they would have to trust him not to run away once he'd gotten what he wanted, and after he'd betrayed their trust before, it was asking for too much. But with the possibility of truly defeating the Anti-Spirals finally within reach, Yoko had to ask. "Why?"

"Nia's body and mind are connected to the Anti-Spirals, so once they disappear, so would she. And if that happens, what's the point? Why should she give up that information if she's not getting anything in return? So that's the deal. We get what we want first, or there's no partnership. No end to the war. Nothing."

As much as they didn't want to admit it, that made sense.

"And what about the other Spiral races? What are we supposed to do about them?"

"Simple. Put all the blame on me. Say I coerced all of you. I'll take responsibility for everything."

This surprised them too.

"What do you mean by that? Are you going to hand yourself over to them?"

Simon shrugged. "I might just let them chase me until they get tired of it. Either way, it won't be your problem anymore."

They shared an uneasy glance. Could it really be so easy? Could they really trust him again?

"Come on, it's an easy decision. Either we work together and get what we want, or we go our separate ways and keep waffling until someone succeeds in killing us."

"Or, we could kill you right here and rid the universe of a huge pain in the ass," Kittan sneered, hefting his shotgun.

Taboo and the Messenger tensed up, but Simon merely narrowed his eye. "If you want to kill me after everything's over, then go ahead and try. But you should realize that right now, I'm more valuable to you alive than dead."

The calmness of his answer made it all the more unsettling. This wasn't a trick. He was dead serious.

Yoko gulped. "We'll need some time to think about it."

Simon sighed. "You have one day. I'll be waiting here for your answer the same time tomorrow."

 

* * *

  

That night, Nia awoke to the realization that something was missing. When she went to sleep, Simon's arm had been around her, and now that warm presence was gone. She rolled over and saw Boota close by, still fast asleep. She sat up, looking around the room. Simon was nowhere to be seen.

She searched for his presence, and found him out on the nearby roof terrace. She teleported there. He was sitting on the edge of the terrace, looking at something in the distance.

The floor of the terrace was covered in a layer of soil. It must have been a hanging garden once, and now it had grown wild, invaded by all manner of grass and weeds and flowers, growing wherever they pleased in a sort of natural chaos.

When she came to his side, Nia saw what he was looking at. Near the edge of the forest, the light of a campfire lit up the faces of three Gunmen and the sleeping forms of their pilots.

"I couldn't sleep," Simon said softy.

"Are you feeling nervous?" she asked.

"A little," he admitted.

She looked at him.

"Okay, a lot." He ran a hand through his hair. "Even after saying all that today...a part of me just doesn't believe they'll agree to it."

"But this is what you decided, isn't it?"

"I know. I know this is the best way. I just don't know if it'll actually work." He heaved a frustrated sigh. "I'm no good at this. How can I convince them to trust me? I don't know what I'll do if they don't..."

"You should smile at them."

"What?"

"You have a wonderful smile. If you show it to them, they might think differently of you."

He gave her an incredulous look. "It's not that easy."

She put her finger to the corner of his mouth and gently pulled it into a lop-sided smile. "'It's as easy as you want it to be.' Right?"

He smiled for real then, taking her hand and pulling her into his arms. She giggled, leaning into him as he lay kisses down her neck.

Then suddenly, he inhaled sharply. He'd lost his balance. They began tipping over the edge of the roof.

A second of blind panic. Nia grabbed the lapel of his coat, propped her legs against the edge of the terrace and _pulled_. It worked, but then the weight of his body overwhelmed her, and they landed in a heap on the grassy terrace.

Wide-eyed and hearts pumping, they looked at each other and began laughing nervously, which soon turned into full-blown, helpless laughter as the humor of the situation sunk in. Here they were, Anti-Spiral Messenger and Spiral Nemesis incarnate, with the entire universe after their necks, and of all the ways to die, they could have just lost their lives falling carelessly off a building.

"That would've been embarrassing," Simon finally managed to say, their laughter fading.

A minute passed after that. Simon still lay sprawled on top of her.

"You aren't getting up," Nia observed.

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at her, a hint of a sly smile on his face. "Maybe I don't want to."

The look he was giving her now made her heart start pounding again. And now she thought she could finally sort of understand that unknown feeling she had when they first met, as he was looking down at her in much the same way. It made her speechless and flustered, though not in an unpleasant way, and left her tingling in anticipation for something she couldn't begin to imagine.

Conversely, her lack of response seemed to make him worry. "Are you uncomfortable?"

"N-no."

But whatever he was thinking, he seemed to have changed his mind now. Sighing, he shifted positions so that they were lying side by side, her head rested on his shoulder and his arm around her waist, hugging her to his body.

Nia felt a little disappointed, but this wasn't bad either. She nestled close to him.

They stared up at the stars, in complete silence except for the chirping of nocturnal creatures and their own breathing.

After a while, she spoke again. "I was serious, you know. Your smile made quite an impression on me."

He chuckled, humoring her. "Oh yeah? When was that?"

She remembered it vividly. "When you threatened to cause the Spiral Nemesis to apologize to me. It was after you asked me to tell you who I was." She traced her finger down his cheek. "It was the first time you smiled at me like that."

Lost in recollection, his expression turned serious. "The first time I saw you smile...was right before we first kissed."

She blinked. "I don't believe I was smiling then."

"The serious kiss."

"Oh."

Remembering that made her want to kiss him then, so she did. He must have thought the same, because he met her halfway.

In no time, the kissing became heavy, intensified perhaps by the fact that they'd had little such contact in the past weeks due to his injury. Even if it still hurt, it didn't seem to be enough of a bother now to discourage him from getting very close indeed.

Strange, she'd lived for so long without ever knowing of kissing, and yet now she felt starved for it. Stranger still, while it certainly helped alleviate some tension, she soon found that it wasn't enough.

This was puzzling, but to ask about it would mean to stop, so she thought it could wait.

She curled up against his body, one hand grasping his shoulder, the other on his chest. His hands kept moving. Eventually his knee edged its way between her legs too, and the feel of his thigh against her loins was strangely...pleasant. The closer they got, the more she wanted, like a magnetizing need that kept growing until she wasn't sure how she was ever going to be sated.

And then she felt something even more unusual.

Nia broke off a deep kiss, deciding that this thing was too strange to ignore. She had to verify it with her own eyes.

"What?" Simon asked, his breath hot.

Nia glanced down.

Oh...that was very odd indeed.

"Simon? Why is your lower half protruding?" she asked.

Simon hissed. "Oh, dammit."

He rolled off of her, which this time she found immensely disappointing. She sat up and looked at him. He had his face in his hands and said nothing.

"Simon?" Frustrated, she shook his shoulder. What went wrong? Was she not supposed to ask about that? But it was so _prominent_..

Finally, Simon lowered his hands, taking a deep breath as if steeling himself for something.

He sat up, put his hands on her shoulders, and spoke to her very carefully. "Nia...we need to talk."

 

* * *

  

When Boota woke up in the morning, he found that both Simon and Nia were already up and about. He also noticed immediately that something had changed.

Simon couldn't stand still. He paced all over the room, barely able to contain his energy, but this time he didn't seem to be in a bad mood. Rather, he looked positively cheerful.

"Today is going to be a GREAT day! I can _feel_ it! That's right, everything's going to go my way, just you wait!" He paused to pump his fists. "YES!"

Boota scratched his head. It was so over-the-top that he had to wonder if he was stuck in some bizarre dream.

"Did something happen?" He looked over to Nia, and she blushed.

"...I'll take that as a yes."

 

* * *

  

After spending the previous day discussing it, they came to meet Simon again, but it was not with an answer.

"We need more time to decide," Yoko said.

"Sorry, can't allow that," Simon shrugged. "I said I'd give you one day. That's all the time we have."

"You don't get it. Our coming here was already an unpopular decision. Having you back on board so suddenly is going to make people _snap_."

"We need to get them used to the idea first," Gimmy explained. "They won't be happy either way, but if we can at least make them understand..."

"What's the big rush, anyway? You can't afford to walk away from this either."

Simon shook his head. "That's why I'm telling you, we just don't have anymore time."

They paused in confusion. What was he saying?

Simon turned to Taboo. "How long has it taken for the Anti-Spirals to track me down each time?"

"From my observations, about a week," Taboo answered.

"Right." Simon held out his hands in fists. As he spoke, he began raising his fingers one at a time. "It took us one day to stake this place out. It took us roughly another day to track your location. It took yet another day for our message to reach you. It took two days for you to consider our offer and arrive here. And then I gave you one day to deliberate."

He had six fingers up now. They held their breath.

"Oh, and we waited here one day before sending the message." Seven fingers. "So you see, I really need an answer today. They could come at any time."

"You...you planned this?!"

Simon shrugged. "I had a lot of time to think."

And then, they heard an ominous rumble. The ground shook.

"Speak of the devil," Taboo said.

Gimmy's transmitter beeped. He quickly turned it on, and Tetsukan's voice came through.

"Hey, we need to get out of here! A fleet of Anti-Spirals just warped in!" There was some static. "Agh! We're under attack, and they've started bombing the planet too! _Seriously_ , you guys need to get back up here, _right now!_ "

Before they could answer, the transmission ended with another buzz of static.

There was some more rumbling. The ground shook harder, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

Taboo walked off. "I'll go prepare Gurren-Lagann."

Simon shrugged. "Okay, scratch that, you have two minutes to decide."

"Y-you can't just force us to decide like this!"

"I'm not forcing anything. You've already decided, haven't you? You're just worried how people are going to react. Besides, a leader needs to be able to make split-second decisions. There's no time for democracy in the middle of a battle. Sometimes that means you'll make bad decisions, and you'll take flak for them, but you still need to make them."

So that was what this was about. He was making a point. Putting them in his shoes.

Simon and the Messenger stood up, getting ready to leave. "Well?"

He was right. They _had_ already decided. But it was hard not to consider the consequences. After all, it was the results of Simon's decisions that led _them_ to mutiny...

Yoko ground her teeth. Just when she had finally earned people's trust back...if she made this decision, would she be accused of being too sympathetic again?

She turned to Kittan, who was glowering at Simon. Though usually loud-mouthed, he hadn't said a thing so far. She knew he himself was still upset with the prospect of having Simon back. Would he be able to put aside those feelings?

And then someone spoke. "Fine! We accept your proposal!"

Yoko looked at Gimmy in surprise. He didn't look too happy about it either, but seemed resolute nonetheless.

Simon grinned. "See you on board."


	16. Breakthrough (Part 2)

As Gurren-Lagann and the three Gunmen exited the atmosphere, with the planet erupting in explosions behind them, they saw that Tetsukan had been right. The Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren had its shields up, trying to fend off an attack by two Anti-Spiral battleships, while a third ship sent volleys down to the planet.

At this rate, the Gunmen wouldn't even be able to get back inside the ship. Gurren-Lagann split off from them, flying toward the third Anti-Spiral ship. Almost immediately, the battleship's eyes found them, and refocused its attacks on Gurren-Lagann.

As Simon concentrated on dodging the beams, Boota sent the other Gunmen a message: "We'll hold them off. Meet us at these coordinates." The Gunmen flew off toward the Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren, as the other two Anti-Spiral ships began turning their attention to Gurren-Lagann as well.

It was fortunate that Gurren-Lagann's comparatively small size made them a smaller target. After all, they were just barely a speck against those massive battleships. But that also meant each beam was at least fifty times their size, requiring a lot of luck as well as quick flying to dodge them, and now they were surrounded by three ships. Already Simon was starting to sound out of breath.

Boota looked back, and saw the Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren blink into nothingness. "They're gone! Let's go!"

"Hold on, I want to take one of these out first," Simon said. At the moment, as they were being chased by a beam from one ship, Simon began flying toward the ship beside it. The beam tore through the ship as they flew alongside it. But then...

"Simon, wait--" Nia cried.

"Crap--"

The eyes of the ship they were flying alongside opened, and another barrage of beams was sent at them, hitting the other battleship as they dodged. But they could hardly turn back now with the other beam still gaining on them, so they continued flying forward, beams blasting at them from both sides. Soon, caught in a throng of explosions, they could hardly see anything at all, until finally both entire battleships exploded from the damage of their respective attacks, and the force of the double blasts flung Gurren-Lagann spinning far into space.

"Phew!" said Simon, sounding exhilarated. No doubt he was glad to be back in action.

As they slowed down, Boota quickly assessed the damage. "Looks like we lost a large chunk of the left leg, parts of the wing...actually, everything is a mess." Combined with bits of damage from past escapes, Gurren-Lagann was looking pretty ragged. If it were any normal Gunmen, it probably wouldn't be holding together at all. "Please tell me you only did that because we'll have a mechanic to fix things again."

Simon just laughed. Then, before the remaining battleship could attack them, they disappeared in a warp.

They reappeared in black space, with no planet in sight. The space between solar systems. As planned, the Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren was there as well.

They flew up to the mouth of the battleship and waited. A few minutes passed.

"Think they'll let us in?" Boota asked.

This time, Simon didn't answer. Perhaps some of the morning's confidence was starting to wear off.

Finally, the mouth opened, and they were allowed inside.

But their welcome was not warm.

The moment Gurren-Lagann landed, they were bombarded with voices of protest. The hangar was filled with a crowd already.

It was in no way unexpected, of course. They knew this would be another hurdle they'd have to face.

Still, at this rate, there could be a riot.

"What the hell are they doing back here?!"

"We ain't working under _him_ again! No way!"

"The hell do you think we voted you in for?!"

"Traitors! Get the Anti-Spiral bitch outta here before she brings the rest of 'em!"

Gimmy, Yoko, and Kittan futilely tried to calm the crowd down. Gimmy seemed to be trying to explain his decision, but his voice could barely be heard over the racket.

It looked all too familiar; these people weren't listening to sense anymore. No amount of explaining could have gotten them back on the ship when it came to this mob.

At the front was a familiar face. Kidd. He looked particularly betrayed, raging at Kittan and the others as much as at Simon.

"What the _fuck_ , man!! You were there! You know what he did! How could ya let that piece of crap back on this ship?!"

Starting to lose his cool as well, Kittan yelled back. "Yeah, I know! You think I like it? You think we'd do this if we didn't _have_ to? Try looking at the big picture!"

"Screw the big picture! He killed Zorthy and Iraak!!"

As they climbed down from the landing platform, Simon looked confused. "Iraak..." He turned to Boota. "Who was he again?"

There was a sudden hush from the crowd. Boota felt the urge to slap his forehead. Of all the things to be overheard...

Simon blinked. He had honestly forgotten. He never did interact with the rest of the brigade much...

Boota quickly whispered to him, "Iraak Coega, from Coega Village. Piloted the Ainzer. He and Kidd Coega were known as the Whirlwind Brothers..."

"Oh, right, him. ...I didn't kill him, did I?"

"Not directly, but..." He couldn't say any more before the crowd's resurging outrage drowned him out.

"The bastard doesn't even remember! He doesn't _care!_ "

"All our sacrifices mean nothing to him!"

"Murderer!"

"Look, call me a murderer all you want, but I don't even know how they died," Simon said, starting to sound frustrated.

"The _how_ doesn't matter," Yoko said bitterly, shaking her head. "They died in battle...a needless battle that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you. It _is_ your fault they died."

Now Simon seemed to understand. He sighed. "...Okay, then I guess it is."

"How can you be so calm?" cried someone in the crowd, a young Gulaparl pilot. "Don't you feel any guilt?!"

Simon said nothing. He started to draw back, but Nia clutched his arm. He had avoided this long enough.

Then suddenly, Kidd lunged at him. There was a roar from the crowd. Boota just managed to intercept the punch, grabbing Kidd's wrist and twisting his arm. Kidd grunted, "Lemme go, you overgrown animal!"

Gimmy and the others frantically tried to calm the crowd down again, but they were already chanting for a fight.

Boota felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Simon. "Let him go. It's okay."

Boota glanced back at him.

Simon looked serious. "If he wants to punch me, he can punch me. At least he'll be taking it out on the right person."

Boota sighed, and reluctantly let go of Kidd. This really wasn't the kind of action he wanted to see his friend back in...

Simon took off his coat and sword and handed them to Nia. He stepped up to Kidd, facing him straight on. "Go on."

Kidd hesitated, whether from fear or disbelief, but then a grin crossed his face and he began cracking his knuckles.

The crowd sounded its approval and began forming a circle around the two.

Boota quickly herded Nia out of the way. "What's going to happen?" she asked nervously.

"Let's just let him face this..." Boota started to say, then winced at the _crack_ as Kidd's first punch landed on Simon's face.

Simon stumbled back a little, but remained standing. He didn't raise his own fists. He didn't fight back or defend himself at all. He just waited for the next blow.

Kidd punched him again. And again. And again. The crowd cheered wildly, but it was a completely one-sided fight.

At first, Simon didn't seem to be in much pain. In fact, it was starting to look like Kidd's fist would give out before Simon's face. After all, this was the same face that had taken Lord Genome's punches as a child and only got away with some swelling.

This only enraged Kidd further. He aimed for Simon's missing eye.

And at last, Simon grunted in pain. It was enough to startle Kidd, but then he resumed his attacks with renewed vigor.

Eventually, a blow finally knocked Simon to the floor, and as he got up on his hands and knees, this time Kidd began dealing out kicks to his head and stomach.

Beside him, Boota saw Nia shudder, flinching with every blow Simon received. Finally she looked away, eyes squeezed shut.

He could sympathize. Though he knew Simon wouldn't be _too_ badly hurt, it was still very hard to watch. Even some of the other onlookers, who were at first eager to see the beatdown, were now looking uncomfortable.

Once Kidd was done kicking, this time he grabbed Simon by the hair, and kneed him in the face repeatedly. There were gasps from the crowd.

Finally, Simon collapsed to the floor. He didn't move. The crowd became silent. Surely by now, if it were any normal human, he would be dead...

But soon Simon coughed, and slowly picked himself back up. His bandages had mostly come undone now, strands of it trailing from his face, revealing the scarred cavity beneath. Blood trailed down his chin from his nose and a busted lip. He staggered on his feet a little, but managed to stand again.

Kidd's fist was bloodied as well. He was out of breath.

Then Simon spoke. "Doesn't make things any better, does it?"

"What?" Kidd snarled.

Simon was looking at the floor, watching his blood drip. "It doesn't bring anyone back. It doesn't reverse any harm. Maybe it makes you feel better, but only for a little while. It won't bring any real justice."

"Shut up!!" Kidd punched him again, but Simon continued speaking.

"I could let every person on this ship have a piece of me, and it wouldn't improve a thing."

"You got no right to lecture me, you bastard! What do you know?!"

"I know. I've spent the past ten years doing just what you're doing now."

Kidd paused. Remembering. What happened ten years ago, how it caused Simon to react, what it made him become.

Simon turned to the crowd, raising his voice. "One death was all it took to ruin my life...and countless others. Do you think, if I let myself be weighed down by every person I've killed, I'd be able to do anything? What would it even prove? The best I can do now is try to fix things."

He spat out some blood and wiped his chin. "Well?" He turned back to Kidd. "Are you going to continue?"

Kidd's expression flared up in anger again, but then something seemed to snap inside him, and he fell to his knees, slamming his fist against the floor. "GODDAMMIT!"

He began sobbing. "...Think you know everything...I oughta..." But then suddenly, he wasn't talking about Simon anymore. "Fucking bastard, leavin' me behind...why'd he gotta die like _that!_ It was uncool, man! We were the Whirlwind Brothers...we shoulda gone down together..."

And now, looking down at Kidd, for the first time Simon's expression showed deep regret. He opened his mouth, and for a second it looked like he was going to apologize, but then he changed his mind. He walked away.

The circle broke as some members of the crew went to Kidd, either to comfort him or join him in mourning. With the crowd finally calmed down, Gimmy, Yoko, and Kittan began trying to get people back to their stations.

Boota and Nia rushed to Simon at once. Supporting his weight, they began helping him to the exit.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Boota said. "...And just in case, checked to see if anything's broken."

Simon smirked ironically. "Right back to the medical bay, huh?"

 

* * *

  

Shortly after, Gimmy properly explained the terms of the negotiation to the entire crew over the communication channel, while in the medical bay, Simon reunited with the doctors, getting his old injuries looked over and his new ones treated. Thankfully, there was nothing too serious. Simon left with a bruised face and a black eyepatch to replace the bandages.

He was assigned two guards to watch over him while in the computer room, to make sure that he was doing what he said he would be doing and nothing else. Apparently their trust of him only went so far.

As for Boota and Nia, while they joined him in the computer room at first, Nia increasingly wished to roam the ship instead, and to put Simon's mind at ease, Boota accompanied her.

In the halls, everyone gave them a wide berth. The sight of Nia was frequently met with fear, nervous whispers, or glares of resentment.

"I cannot blame them," Nia said. "I've been their enemy for so long. I've helped kill so many of their people." Yet she looked disappointed. "...But I'd so like to know more about them."

"Is there anything in specific you want to do on the ship?" Boota asked her.

Nia thought for a moment, then answered. "I'd like to talk to some people."

She described to him everyone she'd attacked back during the escape, and he did his best to find them for her. And so for the next day, Nia went around the ship, apologizing to people one by one. It was impressive enough that she'd even remembered them all, so when faced with her heartfelt apology, most of them were rendered speechless, and some even abashedly forgave her.

They left Kidd for last, and approached him the most cautiously. When he saw them coming, he froze, clutching his bandaged hand. They stared at each other for a long moment. Nia tried to speak first, but before she could begin, Kidd grumbled, "I ain't gonna be like him. No way. But that don't mean I want to be buddy-buddy either..." Then he snuck off.

Nia looked unsure whether she should pursue, but Boota shook his head. "I think that's the best we can hope for." At the very least, he seemed to be aware of what she was going to say.

Eventually, Nia took to hanging around the common room and chatting with people as they came in for their breaks. They spent the next few days in this way, until the crew was used to her presence. Several of them even became friendly.

Of course, it certainly helped that Nia had a natural charm that won people over quite easily once she got to talking with them, and surrounded by humans in a non-hostile environment for the first time, she quickly emerged as a social butterfly. Before long, the question "What does he see in her?" was all but forgotten, and instead "What does _she_ see in _him?_ " became even more prominent.

Boota sighed. If they had just done this from the beginning, it would have saved them all a lot of pain and heartache.

Being accepted made Nia unspeakably happy. Simon looked a little overwhelmed at the end of the day, as Nia was full of stories that she was more than eager to tell him about.

"I talked to some mechanics today, and there were such different people among them! But they all do the same job! Well, not exactly the same, they work on different things and...and I met that lady from the medical bay! Only she doesn't work in the medical bay, she says she works on the bridge, and now that I think of it, I remember seeing her before on the bridge-- but now I know her name! And she introduced me to some of the other operators and they..."

"Whoa, Nia, slow down..."

Boota took his leave of her then, wishing Simon luck in getting any sleep as he headed for his old sleeping quarters. He could guess that Simon probably learned more about the crew in those nights than he did in all his time as captain.

However, it was only a matter of time before Nia attracted a group who wanted to satisfy their own morbid curiosity. They gathered around her in the common room one evening, and though it felt almost like an ambush, Nia took it upon herself to answer every question sincerely.

"So what's it like, being an Anti-Spiral?" asked a wide-eyed operator.

"It's...empty, and lonely, though I am linked to many minds other than my own. I could not quite call it living at all."

"Do you remember everything? All the times you attacked us?"

"Yes, I do."

"My sister was killed by a Mugann. Do you remember that?"

Nia chose her words carefully. "...I'm sorry, but I, or rather the Anti-Spirals, did not pay much attention to each person we killed."

They were all silent for a moment.

"I wish that I could take it back, that I could have had more control over my actions back then, but..."

"See, that's what I don't get," said one skeptical Gulaparl pilot. "No matter how we look at it, you're just a completely different person from before. What happened?"

"Oh, this me was there all along. For a long time, I did not realize it, but Simon found me. I am like this now because of him."

They seemed to find that hard to believe. "But...he's such a _douche_."

"What is a 'douche'?"

"Uhh..."

Boota whispered in her ear. Nia blinked. "Oh. Yes, I suppose he can be like that at times...but he is also very kind and caring."

Now they all looked doubtful.

"And quite persistent."

Some understanding nods.

Nia sighed. "If only you could see him the way I do..."

The door opened then, and Simon came in. He looked around and spotted them on the couches. " _Here_ you are."

"Done for today?" Boota asked.

Simon mumbled inaudibly. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. He turned back towards the door. "Come on, let's go."

"Wait!" Nia said suddenly. "Simon, let's stay here."

He stopped. At the same time, there was a small gasp from the group around them, with some uneasy looks.

To everyone's surprise, Simon actually listened to her request, returning with the angle in his shoulders clearly reading, 'I'm only doing this for you.'

He sat down on the couch beside her. The other crew members stared at him. Simon crossed his arms and fidgeted.

Nia smiled sweetly. "So how are things coming along?"

"W-well, we've been going over some options, but..."

He kept glancing at the people around them as he answered, keenly aware of the audience. An awkward tension lay thick in the air, and it seemed Nia was the only one who didn't notice.

Boota grinned to himself, realizing what was happening. Simon was out of his comfort zone. He didn't know how to behave.

As Simon stumbled over his words, Nia put her hand on his knee.

Simon froze, staring at her hand.

"And?" She tilted her head.

When words came out of his mouth again, he'd lost his train of thought. "...What was I saying?"

There were some uncomfortable coughs from the group. Many of them were itching to leave.

Finally, Nia took Simon's face in her hands, firmly fixing his attention on her.

"What are you doing?" he hissed at her between his teeth.

She smiled. "You act differently with different people, right? I want them to see the way you are when you're with me."

His face immediately reddened. "No...no way. I'm not putting on a performance." He stood up and hurried out of the room.

"Ah, Simon! Wait!"

Boota followed them out, chuckling, as the crew began whispering amongst themselves in their wake. Though it didn't turn out the way Nia had hoped, the plan wasn't a total failure. After all, they had seen Simon flustered. And that was one step closer to seeing him as human.

 

* * *

  

As the week went on, Yoko found it increasingly difficult to keep her personal feelings bottled up.

She had heard rumors that the Messenger was making nice with the crew, though gossip about Simon or the Messenger usually came to a hush whenever she entered the room, so she never got many details.

She was skeptical, of course. The Anti-Spiral Messenger, charming her way through the ship? Ridiculous.

But it didn't bother her as much as it did after a meeting between her, Gimmy, and Kittan, on the third day since Simon came back. As they'd divided the captain's duties amongst themselves, they met in the conference room at the end of each day to review everything together.

"So, hull repairs are finally finished. Leite says everything's ready to go if we need to go into battle."

"And we should anticipate regular attacks by the Anti-Spirals again, now that Simon is back on board..."

"Why haven't they attacked us yet, anyway?"

"Actually, I've been thinking that we should ask the Messenger about that, and maybe some other things," Gimmy said. "If she's here and talking, we might as well take advantage, you know?"

Yoko and Kittan nodded their agreement. It had been on their minds as something they ought to do, now that she seemed to have gotten settled. But then they fell silent.

"So...I guess we should go ask her to talk with us," Gimmy said. It was clear he was nervous about this prospect, and he warily glanced in Yoko's direction.

But before she could say anything, Kittan spoke up. "I'll do it. I already talked to her a day ago."

"What?" They looked to him in surprise.

Yoko already knew that several people had been approached by the Messenger, but Kittan hadn't even mentioned it until now, and she couldn't help but wonder if he'd merely forgotten, or intentionally kept it from her.

"...What was that like?" Gimmy asked.

"Well..." Kittan rubbed at the back of his neck. "She said she was sorry for attacking me during the escape. I mean, she didn't regret _why_ she did it, but she was sorry that it had to happen. And well, I _did_ shoot at her...and she only stunned us, so..." He shrugged. "I think she just wanted to make peace, you know?"

Yoko scoffed. "'Only stunned you'? You looked like you were going to wet your pants when you saw her again."

Kittan looked both embarrassed and offended at that. Frowning, he said, with as much grace as he could muster, "Yeah, well, we've all seen what she's like when she's scary. But I'm not gonna lie, she was pretty cute this time."

This time it was Yoko's turn to frown. "Oh, really."

Kittan raised his eyebrows at her. "What?"

Gimmy hurried to change the subject. "Okay, so...Kittan, you can handle that. And actually, we should probably talk to them both." A quick glance in her direction again. "...But I can take care of asking Simon."

Yoko was still in a rotten mood at the end of the meeting. In the end, they'd decided on having both Simon and the Messenger join them in the conference room the day after next, at the same time Leeron was to send his weekly transmission. She was confident that she would be able to maintain a business-like tone as long as Kittan and Gimmy were along, but at the moment, _they_ were the ones she was annoyed at.

And on one hand, maybe she didn't have a right to complain. Kittan didn't owe her an explanation. After all, it wasn't as if their relationship had changed much in the past weeks (they were all so busy, and she was stuck in bed, going out of her mind with restlessness). And Gimmy was right in worrying that her personal feelings might get in the way.

But on the other hand, she hated the way people seemed to be walking on eggshells around her again since Simon returned, like she was a volcano about to blow at any minute. And what was this 'pretty cute' nonsense? Why did it seem like suddenly everyone was fawning all over the Messenger, someone who _used to be their enemy?_ Was a pretty face all it took to change people's minds these days? Ridiculous...completely ridiculous.

And above all, what did that make _her_ , still worrying about the confidence of the crew, even after working so hard, still estranged from Simon, again after working so hard, reduced to being jealous over someone who she just couldn't accept, despite seemingly everyone finding it so easy?

Naturally, that thought didn't make her feel any better either, and she certainly didn't want to admit any of it out loud. So really, all she could do was concentrate on her work and try to pay no mind to either Simon or the Messenger, lest she continue stewing in bitterness.

This was, admittedly, a next to impossible task.

 

* * *

  

One night, rather than going straight to bed like Boota did, Simon decided to go on a walk around the ship with Nia to stretch his legs. Well, that wasn't the only reason. He was already feeling frustrated from his session with Lord Genome, but on top of that, Gimmy had come to tell him that he and the other leaders expected him to report his progress tomorrow.

When he remarked that they'd never agreed on having any fucking deadlines, Gimmy simply replied, "The deal was that we wouldn't have any more secrets. Why _shouldn't_ we know your progress?"

He couldn't dispute that, but it didn't make him feel any less irritated. After all, it wasn't that he was _hiding_ anything this time. He just didn't have much to _show_ yet. So with that to look forward to, he knew he would have to clear his head first if he hoped to get any sleep that night.

Sensing his anxiety, Nia didn't press the subject, and instead talked about inconsequential things from that day, and just listening to her voice helped soothe him.

They weren't going anywhere in particular, but his feet carried him down familiar territory, and eventually they found themselves in front of the captain's quarters. As he was no longer captain, Simon didn't use the room anymore, but he decided to peek in to see if anything had changed.

There was still a hole in the door. It seemed no one had bothered to fix it yet. And on the desk, an ever-present stack of paperwork, though much tidier than he used to keep it.

It felt so long since they were last in this room.

"A lot happened here," Simon mused, running his hand over the top of the desk. He briefly reminisced over those early days with Nia, good and bad memories both.

Then a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

They turned to find Yoko standing in the doorway.

Great. He had managed to avoid another confrontation with her thus far, but it looked like his luck just ran out.

"We're taking a walk. And you?"

"This is my office now."

He gave a short laugh. "So they stuck you with all the paperwork?"

"I was a teacher. I'm used to it."

"Well then we'll just get out of your way, leader."

But Yoko didn't move, blocking the door.

Simon frowned. He was _not_ in the mood for this. "Remember the last time you got in my way?"

She bristled.

Nia quickly intervened. "Please, we don't want any trouble."

"I just want to ask him something," Yoko said, not taking her eyes off of him. "Just how long did you think you could get away with hiding her here?"

Simon heaved an exasperated sigh. "Do we really need to talk about this?"

"Yes! I want to talk!"

"It was partly my fault, I--" Nia began explaining.

"Can you just stay out of this for one second?" Yoko snapped.

"Don't talk to her like that!"

"Just answer the damn question!"

"As long as I needed, okay?"

"And you didn't think telling us would have been a good idea?"

"Are you saying you would have been _okay_ with me bringing the Anti-Spiral Messenger on board?"

She threw her hands up. "I don't know! Maybe! The point is, you could have at least confided in me! God knows I gave you plenty of chances!"

"Right," he scoffed. He'd believe that if it came from someone who _didn't_ lead a mutiny against him. "Like when?"

Yoko nearly exploded. "Like the time you fucking said her name when we had sex!"

Oh, she just _had_ to bring that up! "Look, I didn't even _mean_ to-- and you think I'd actually _confide_ in you in that situation?-- and besides, you--"

But then he noticed that someone in the room had grown very quiet.

Simon turned slowly to see Nia looking stone-faced. "...You were having sex with her even after you met me?"

_Oh shit._

He quickly tried to explain. "That was... _weeks_ before we got together! ...And I was thinking of you the whole time!"

"Oh, you stinking bastard!" Yoko growled.

Shit again.

"What? That was just one time! I thought of you all the other times!"

"That doesn't make it any less shitty!"

"I agree, Simon! That's terrible!" Nia exclaimed. "You should have been thinking of her if you were having sex with her!"

"Wait, _what?_ " Now they were _both_ ganging up on him?!

She continued. "And if you wanted to think of me, you should have just had sex with me sooner!"

"NIA!" This was becoming more wrong by the minute.

Yoko crossed her arms. "Oh, and you've had sex with her too? Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, we're in a committed relationship! There is nothing wrong with that!" he snapped. "And I waited a long time considering she dresses worse than _you_ do!"

"You waited _too_ long!" Nia pouted.

He turned back to her. "Look, you say that now, but would you really have been up for it back then? Seriously? Miss I'm-Just-A-Program-Made-To-Destroy-You? You didn't know what a kiss is, or how _anything_ worked, and you think sex is mating!"

"But it _is_ mating! You just call it differently! If you'd simply said you wanted to mate with me, I wouldn't have been so confused when..."

Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. "God, I'm not going through this again."

"Jeez, you two have problems," Yoko said, eyebrow raised.

"Thanks for the observation, Yoko!"

And then they were arguing again, getting in each others' faces and drowning out Nia until they hardly took notice of her anymore.

"At least when she looks at me, I know I'm the only one she's looking at!"

" _Fuck you!!_ I wasn't looking for a substitute!"

"Then what _were_ you looking for? Because that's what it came off as!"

"I was _worried_ for you, asshole! God...I can't believe I wasted all that time trying to get close to you."

"Sure, because sleeping with someone is a really normal way to show that you're worried for them! What were you, desperate?"

" _I_ was desperate?! You went right along with it, you...you...fuck, you know what? I'm _glad_ I shot out your eye!"

"Great! Then why don't you just take the other one while you're at it?!"

"Maybe I ought to! It's the least that you deserve!"

Then finally, someone shouted, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

That someone was Nia.

Immediately, the two of them turned to gape at her, putting an abrupt end to the arguing. (That's it, Simon decided, he _had_ to stop cursing around her.)

Nia continued huffing. "That is enough from both of you!"

She then grabbed his arm (she had a surprisingly strong grip) and pushed past Yoko, dragging him out of the room and down the hall. Simon had to admit he was glad to have gotten out of that trainwreck, but he'd never seen Nia this angry before.

A few minutes later, she suddenly stopped walking.

"What?"

"I don't know where I'm going," she said, glaring down the hall.

Simon found that strangely adorable, but now probably wasn't a good time to point that out. He sighed and took her hand. "Come on." He led her to his sleeping quarters. But as soon as the door closed behind them, Nia shoved him against the wall, kissing him hard. He didn't even get a chance to turn the lights on. To be honest, he was surprised she even wanted to touch him right now.

Her possessive grip on the back of his neck and the steely force behind her kisses reminded him of her Messenger self...if he'd gotten to kiss her back then. Maybe this is what it could have been like. But as much as he enjoyed it, by now he was getting very concerned about the way she was acting. He pushed her back for a moment, catching his breath.

"Nia, wait..."

"Yes?" she asked, her voice cold. It seemed part of the Messenger had seeped back after all, only this time fueled by emotion rather than rationality. Her fingers tapped impatiently against his neck.

Oh, he would be glad to let her continue having her way with him, but he did care more about how she was feeling. "Maybe we should talk this out."

She looked away, not saying a word.

"Nia?"

She sniffled.

And right then, he finally grasped what was wrong with her.

"...Don't tell me you're _jealous?_ "

A few seconds passed. When she looked back at him, her eyes were wet. "I thought your relationship with her ended a long time ago."

"Well...it did." He shrugged guiltily. "That time was a mistake." One of many.

She sniffed again and looked down, and for a moment he worried that it wasn't a good enough explanation, but then she muttered, "You should have just had sex with me sooner."

Simon couldn't help himself then, he had to grin. "Sorry."

Nia took a minute to compose herself, and meanwhile he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "I'm all yours."

That got the ball rolling again.

But as he lowered her onto the bed, her leg already winding around his waist, he had to get in one last word.

"But seriously, you would've killed me if I tried."

Nia's cheeks turned slightly pink. "...You don't know that."

And there was nothing left to do after that but make up for lost time.

 

* * *

  

When Yoko woke up the next day, her head was still full contemplating the previous night's events. Logically, she knew she shouldn't have provoked Simon at all...but he was the one who walked into her territory, and _he_ began threatening her first, goddammit. Still...she hadn't intended for it to get so out of hand. But before she could stop herself, her built-up frustrations had boiled over and she began speaking without thinking.

Maybe part of it was just habit. She'd gotten used to the fact that the only sure-fire way of getting an honest reaction out of him was by making him angry. She didn't often like what he had to say, but still, that was when Simon seemed the most open about his feelings.

Honestly though, she was getting tired of fighting. No, she was already _sick_ of it, but even though she knew it was unwise, a small part of her still insisted on trying, still hoped that maybe they could reconcile. Who was she kidding? Sure, Simon seemed to have gotten a change in attitude, but that didn't mean things could change between _them_. She tried to kill him for god's sake!

But that in itself wasn't too surprising. The Messenger's outburst, on the other hand, took her aback. She had seen her look upset before, when Simon was at death's door, but that didn't shake her icy image nearly as much. This time, she seemed upset in a way that was neither alien nor perfect.

Yoko was still pondering this when she went to get breakfast. Getting her tray, she quickly scanned the galley, and saw a group of girls at a table.

She approached, but withheld her greeting as soon as she realized that they were gossiping about the Anti-Spiral Messenger. They hadn't noticed her presence yet. If she walked in on them now, they would no doubt change the subject.

So she sat at an empty table nearby, close enough to be able to hear them, but at enough of an angle that they wouldn't see her.

"I don't think she eats, does she?" said one of them.

"Actually, I've seen her around here before, when Taboo and the former captain came to eat. It sure didn't look like she ate anything."

"Not like the food here is worth tasting, you know? Why, if I could go without food..."

"Yeah, she must have had all the palace food she could want when she was a princess. Did you hear, she had Beastmen waiting on her hand and foot?"

"You're kidding! But wasn't she human back then?"

"Well, so was the Spiral King."

"That must have been the _life_. And to think I grew up digging in the dirt, always hungry...why, if I could switch places..."

"I don't know, I'd take digging in the dirt over becoming an Anti-Spiral. And dating _him_."

"Crazy, crazy girl."

"She really does seem to care for him though..."

"That's right, Cybela, weren't you stuck in there with them for a few days?"

"I...I was," said Cybela.

"Ooh, do tell!"

"There isn't much to tell, honestly. He was unconscious most of the time. But...I did see her crying after he woke up."

"...Aww."

Yoko stopped eating. Setting down her fork, she continued listening, staring at her food in silence.

"She's really nice, I mean, once you get to know her."

"Well, I guess. Though I wouldn't be friends with her or anything..."

"I know, I can hardly talk to her. She keeps asking questions."

Yoko pushed her tray away, having lost her appetite. "Well, what do you know," she said under her breath, "...she's just a normal girl after all."

At last, she stood up, and the sound of her chair finally alerted the girls to her presence. As expected, they fell silent.

"Oh...Yoko..."

She almost regretted listening in now. As she walked away, she couldn't stop her imagination from supplying her with images of the Messenger in tears, she couldn't stop her memory from recalling the Messenger's desperate efforts to protect Simon, and she saw them now, as if reliving it...the two of them kissing...his split second of awareness...followed by blood, so much blood, and the Messenger screaming...

Suddenly, she felt _sick_. And at the same time, she envied the Messenger's tears, because at least _her_ man survived.

Yoko quickly ducked into a deserted hallway, leaning against the wall, hand over her mouth. She'd told herself she'd deal with regrets later, and yet after all those days spent doing nothing but replaying those scenes in her head, it was only now that she was truly 'dealing with it.'

After a while, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before someone found her and started worrying. Now what? How was she going to face them at the meeting with this hanging over her? And with the things she'd said last night?

Because at last, it occurred to her...did she really have anything against the Messenger that couldn't be attributed to Simon or the Anti-Spirals? Was she guilty of anything? And in that case, was her attitude towards the girl any fair at all?

And at once, it became clear what she had to do. The Messenger had already gone around apologizing to everyone. Maybe now it was time for someone to return the favor.

Yoko headed for the common room. She'd heard that this was where they hung out, and sure enough, as soon as she walked in, she saw the Messenger and Taboo sitting on a couch. The room was empty but for them at the moment, as people on the late shifts went to bed and those replacing them were still eating or just getting to work.

The Messenger turned as the door opened, and her mouth opened in surprise. Taboo made an unconscious movement, as if he were about to jump out of his seat, but he remained sitting, wearing a cautious frown.

Yoko made her way to the opposite couch, trying to appear casual, and asked, "Can I join you?"

The Messenger nodded silently.

She sat down stiffly and crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap. Then she cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Taboo. He must have gotten the message, because he got up and went to lean against the far wall, giving them some space to speak alone, but still watching carefully.

An awkward silence passed between them.

Yoko itched to do something with her hands, so that she wouldn't just be sitting there. Cleaning her rifle first came to mind, but she quickly banished the idea-- bringing attention to the weapon that nearly killed the girl's lover, almost flaunting that fact in her face, would do little to solve matters.

Finally, Yoko sighed and decided to just get it over with. "I want to apologize," she said. "For yesterday."

The Messenger blinked, then nodded. "Alright."

"...You sure accepted that easily."

"Are you sincere?"

"I wouldn't be saying it if I wasn't."

"Then it is alright. I also apologize for my outburst yesterday." She bowed her head, looking a bit abashed.

Well, it was a relief to know that at least she wasn't the only one embarrassed by the incident. But... "I'm surprised you're not asking why I'm not apologizing for...well," she shrugged her shoulder carrying the rifle.

The Messenger's brows creased slightly. "I know you had your reasons."

She couldn't imagine how much self-restraint there had to be behind that statement. "I did. But...I apologize anyway. I'm sorry."

The Messenger was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Thank you."

Yoko let out a sigh. That was uncomfortable, but it was at least a start. She wondered if it would be best to leave now...

But then the Messenger spoke up. "...If I may ask, why _did_ you start that argument yesterday?"

"I wasn't...I didn't mean..." Yoko paused to collect her thoughts. "I didn't mean for it to turn out that way. It's just...you know, there's a lot of history. I lost my temper."

The Messenger looked thoughtful. "You didn't mean some of the things you said?"

"Oh, I meant them. But...I said more than I should have." She could feel her ears turning warm.

"I see." The Messenger looked satisfied by that explanation.

"I hope I didn't ruin things for you two? Though to be honest, I'm surprised you're still together. I'm sure I've made it clear by now that in my experience, he was a _terrible_ boyfriend."

"There have been times when it's been difficult," the Messenger nodded. "But in fact, things turned out quite favorably last night." A small smile grew on her face.

"Oh really?" Yoko said, raising an eyebrow. Getting the feeling this might be bordering on too much information again, she refrained from pursuing the subject, though she had to wonder how Simon managed to worm his way out of that one.

Really, just going from what she'd seen of them together, the girl had to be some sort of saint to tolerate even half of what he put her through. Or maybe not. Maybe there was a difference in how Simon treated her, something missing from his relationship with Yoko, that made it all worth it?

Suddenly, she had to know. What _was_ different between them?

"So was I wrong then?"

"Huh?"

"Does he tell you things?"

The Messenger blinked.

"For instance, does he tell you about me...or his past...or Kamina..." Her voice caught on his name. She tried to shrug it off, putting on a smile. "Sorry, I'm just curious."

The Messenger looked unsure how to reply. "...I don't assume to know everything. It all seemed very painful to talk about, after all...he blames himself for so much. But yes, he told me about his Bro...and it took some time, but he told me about you too."

Yoko wanted to know what sort of things he'd said, but thought it would be too prying to ask further. However, her silence urged the Messenger onward.

"He told me about what happened..." the Messenger hesitated. "...how he'd lost his concentration, because he saw you with his Bro that night, and how that led to his death..."

Yoko let out a half-laugh, her voice strained. "Oh, he told you about that, too, huh?"

The Messenger seemed to realize her mistake. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No, it's...I'm the one who asked." So there it was, her suspicions finally confirmed. Simon had been willing to confide more in a mortal enemy than in an old friend.

But she was soon snapped out of her thoughts by a cool hand placed over hers.

Yoko looked up to see Nia looking concerned. "Are you okay...?"

"I'm..." Her emotional distress must have shown. "...I should be going now." Shaking her head, Yoko stood up. "It was nice talking to you." And she meant it, but she didn't know how much more she could take.

"Wait..." Nia said, standing as if to follow her, but Yoko was already headed for the exit.

She'd barely taken a step out the door when she nearly ran into someone. And as luck would have it, it was Simon.

"What the?!" he said, stopping short from entering the room. A tense silence fell over them. His eye glanced over Yoko's head for a moment, confirming Nia's presence inside, and then returned to glare at her in suspicion.

Seeing him look at her like that face-to-face was really the last thing she needed right now. But after last night, she couldn't exactly blame him. Yoko figured the best she could do was avoid making the same mistake.

"Relax, I'm not trying to turn her against you or anything."

"Then what _are_ you doing?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" she said, slipping by him.

She looked back once as she walked away, seeing him enter the room, and she faintly heard Nia start to say something before the door slid closed.

Yoko sighed. She might have made her peace with Nia, but as for Simon, it still looked impossible. Hell, she was still torn between wanting to see the good in him and hating his guts herself. Would they ever be able to trust each other again?

At least she could take comfort in the fact that she would only be dealing with him on a business level tonight. Maybe then they could have some measure of civility.


	17. Breakthrough (Part 3)

There was no sign of the Anti-Spirals that day either. By this point, going on almost a week since the last encounter, they were all just waiting for another attack to come, and the anticipation only put the crew further on edge.

Simon and Nia arrived at the conference room right on time. Though he wasn't invited, Taboo came along too, and seeing that it would be pointless to make him leave, they decided to allow it.

Simon looked rather sullen, and seemed to be avoiding making eye contact, which suited Yoko just fine. Their most pressing issue involved Nia, anyway, and she was much more agreeable, greeting them politely at the doorway.

Yoko would have preferred not to speak to Nia again so soon, but Gimmy still seemed a little nervous in her presence, and Kittan's goofy smile irritated her enough to make her shove her reluctance away. She started the meeting, clearing her throat.

"First thing's first, I'm sure you've noticed that we haven't had any attacks in the past few days. Do you know why? Or what the Anti-Spirals might be planning for us? Can you tell us when they'll appear?"

Nia let out a small sigh. This must have been a common question, but she still answered patiently. "When I rebelled, the Anti-Spirals cut my connection to the hive mind. I don't know what they are planning, nor can I predict their attacks."

"There's nothing you can do to warn us?"

"I can sense their presence when they are nearby. At most, I can give you a few seconds of prior warning."

Yoko exchanged a glance with Gimmy and Kittan. A few seconds. Not much of an advantage.

"But you _were_ part of the enemy before, so you must know how they think?" Gimmy asked.

"Enemy or not, I think it'd be obvious what they're doing," Simon butted in. "If they're taking their sweet time, that usually means they're putting together a big operation."

Nia nodded. "They must be planning something. We had made ourselves difficult to track in the past weeks, so now that we are consistently in one place again, they must be concentrating all of their resources to defeat us once and for all. Depending on what their plan entails, this could take some time."

Then Nia's tone shifted, her voice and expression becoming more cold and business-like. "Yes...they are taking their time. Calculating and recalculating. Building layer upon layer to confuse or distract us. Very exact. Very meticulous..."

A chill lingered in the air following her words.

Simon sighed and tapped her shoulder. Nia blinked, the cold look disappearing.

Yoko coughed. "Old habits die hard?"

Gimmy was looking uneasy again. "W...well, everything is up and functioning. We've made sure to keep the main bridge staffed at all times, and we each carry a transmitter in case we can't get there right away, so...I guess we're as prepared as we can be?"

Kittan sat back with a frown. "What, so all we can do is wait?"

"There's no use worrying about it," Simon shrugged. His lips curled in a slight smirk. "Just try and enjoy the surprise."

Anger boiled up in Yoko again. That _attitude_. Call it confidence, call it whatever you want, but here they were trying to protect themselves, and yet he took it so lightly...

Thankfully, before she could worry about suppressing her rage, they got a call from the bridge.

"Transmission coming in!"

He always did have good timing. "Send it here," Yoko said.

The voice they heard next wiped the smirk off Simon's face.

"Hi again~!"

" _Leeron?!_ "

"Simon, is that you? _Wonderful!_ I assume this means the talk proved helpful after all?" Leeron peered into the screen. "And now you're sporting an eyepatch! I swear, you look manlier every time I see you!" He fanned himself. "And is that your Messenger friend?"

"Pleased to meet you, I am Nia," she said, though looking puzzled.

"The pleasure's all mine, dear. My, you sure have _changed_."

They quickly filled Simon in on the deal with Leeron, and Leeron on the deal with Simon. Once they were all caught up, Gimmy began, "Leeron. We were wondering if you could help us with something..."

"Sure, what is it?"

"About making the Messenger human...I think we could use another mind working on it."

"I see. You want my insight?"

Simon looked at Gimmy. He hadn't been expecting this.

In response, Gimmy turned to him and said, in his best impression of Rossiu, "Yes, we were planning this. Did you think we would leave it all up to you? Remember, we have a vested interest in seeing all this through."

Kittan snickered.

Yoko looked to Leeron. "So would you be up for it? It would mean longer and more frequent transmissions, but..."

"Of course! It might be dangerous, but this is far more important than anything else I'm working on. Just transfer whatever data you have over to me and I'll take a look. If need be, I'll call in sick to devote more of my time."

Simon seemed to be at a loss for words. When he finally did manage to speak, he sounded almost touched. "...Thanks."

Leeron merely smiled.

Clearly, Simon thought he would never hear from anyone on the colony again. That _had_ been the intention, after all. But in that moment, Yoko thought she saw something deeper in his surprise; a glimmer of the shy boy he used to be, someone too used to people not wanting anything to do with him.

She rested her head on her hand. "So did you enjoy the surprise?"

Simon gave her a dubious look, but before he could say anything, Nia stood up.

They blinked at her. "What?"

Nia didn't answer. Her eyebrows were furrowed. She looked as if she were trying to listen for some very faint sound.

Then suddenly, her eyes widened. "They're here!" She vanished.

Half a second later, an alarm sounded.

"Shit!" Simon shot to his feet.

Yoko turned to Leeron. "We'll get back to you later!"

Leeron nodded, and cut off the transmission.

They all scrambled to the door. But once out in the hall, instead of heading for the main bridge, Simon and Taboo dashed in the opposite direction, toward the elevator. This made the rest of them hesitate.

"Where's he...?" Yoko began, but then realized. If the ship was being attacked from the outside, shouldn't they have felt some kind of impact by now...?

With growing dread, they followed after them.

As they ran, Gimmy dug his transmitter out of his pocket and contacted the bridge. "What's going on?!"

Tetsukan answered him. "The computer is picking up signs of unknown intruders throughout the ship! Twenty-- no, thirty-- fifty--!"

So it was for real this time. The Anti-Spirals were infiltrating the ship.

 

* * *

  

As they hurried into the elevator, Cibela's voice rang out through the communication system. "Red alert. The enemy has breached the ship. All personnel are to arm themselves immediately with Spiral shells..."

Yoko began loading Spiral shells into her rifle and pistol. She wasn't sure what they would be facing, but Spiral shells seemed like a safe bet.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and for one horrible second, the elevator ground to a complete halt. They held their breaths. Thankfully, it was soon moving again.

Gimmy spoke into the transmitter. "What's the status on the power supply...?"

"The Super Spiral Engine still appears to be functional, as well as the Lord Genome Head. But we're losing contact with many of the other computers..."

"Thank god we created those backups," Yoko sighed in relief.

Following Simon's escape, they had created a backup system for the computers, scattered throughout the ship rather than in one location, so they would never have to worry about losing any vital functions. But the Lord Genome Head was their main energy source and information bank. Losing it would be a fatal blow.

"So the Lord Genome Head is safe?" Kittan frowned. "You'd think that'd be the first thing they'd hit..."

"That should be Nia's doing," Taboo said, speaking up. "We discussed what we would do if this ever happened, and came to the conclusion that Nia was the only one who could protect the Lord Genome Head in time. Of course, Simon wasn't too keen on the idea..."

Yoko glanced at Simon as he silently counted down the floors, drumming his fingers against the wall.

"So...the target of this attack is..."

"Yes, it would be the main computer room."

So that explained everything: Nia's disappearance, Simon knowing right where to go, his impatience. For all their lax attitude, they had at least talked about what to do in the event of an attack.

Taboo went on. "The problem is, we don't know how long she can hold out..."

The transmitter buzzed then. "We're getting reports from all around the ship of the crew facing combat..."

"What does the enemy look like?" Gimmy asked.

"Anti-Spiral Messengers. Lot's of them."

This stunned them into silence. Up to now, it hadn't occurred to Yoko that the Anti-Spirals had more than one Messenger. And now they were sending a whole army? They usually had their hands full dealing with just one...

Minutes later, the elevator finally reached its destination, and the doors slid open. Immediately, they were met with a corridor littered with the bodies of crew members. Standing over them, sure enough, were Anti-Spiral Messengers, all of them clearly not human. Appearance-wise, most seemed to have nothing in common except being bipedal, having red lines carving their bodies, and glowing red eyes.

Yoko had never seen such a variety of alien species gathered together at once. In that moment, she was struck by the sheer number of Spiral races there were in the universe...and how many of them had now become active.

But they had no time to react further, because at the sound of the doors opening, the Messengers all turned their heads. Then, one by one, starting from the nearest to the elevator and echoing back down the hall, they each raised a finger to point at Simon. Eyes glimmering, they chanted in unison: " _There_."

"DOWN!" Simon shouted. They dropped to the floor just in time as red lasers shot above their heads. Quickly, they crawled out of the elevator, Gimmy, Kittan, and Taboo grabbing weapons from fallen crew members, while Yoko began returning fire.

Her first few shots missed entirely, as the Messengers teleported out of range. She heard Simon growl beside her, "It was a trap! They knew I would come for her..."

On her other side, Kittan yelped as a Messenger teleported right behind them, and turning, he reflexively sent a punch to its face. Surprisingly, his punch actually landed, and the Messenger was sent flying into the elevator. He quickly slammed the doors shut, but the Messenger simply teleported out again. "GAH! I _hate_ these guys!"

Now Gimmy was kneeling beside her, shooting at Messengers, and finally they managed to hit a couple with their Spiral shells. And in that nick of time, as the Messengers exploded, screaming, within the Spiral barriers, Simon and Taboo made a mad dash down the hall.

Following their lead, Yoko and Gimmy got up and ran, shooting at attacking Messengers, with Kittan behind them, protecting their backs. They passed by more bodies as they went, all dead, holes burned clean through their chests.

Kittan cursed. "She really took it easy on us!" He meant Nia.

"I'll say," Yoko said, shooting at a Messenger. It disappeared, but in one smooth motion, Yoko turned to her blind spot and fired again. This time she didn't miss. "But fighting her did teach me something!"

Another Messenger appeared in a side corridor just as they ran past, firing two beams at Simon's back. One looked like it would hit, but it glanced off something in the air. A barrier surrounded Simon's body, invisible but for the spark of green when the beam made contact.

The other beam hit Taboo instead, passing through his left shoulder, and he stumbled with a gasp of pain.

"Boota?!" Simon turned his head, but Taboo only grunted, "Keep going!" and continued running and shooting as best he could, left arm hanging limply by his side.

Soon they met up with another group of crew members who were still alive, valiantly fighting back. At the same time, the Messengers' attacks increased in intensity, and they were all forced to huddle in close circles back-to-back to prevent being snuck up on from behind.

As she reloaded her rifle, Yoko glanced around the corner of a wall and saw the door of the computer room nearby. They were now in the very corridor she'd planned to assassinate Simon from.

"What's the situation in there?!" Simon asked one of the crew members.

"We don't know! We haven't managed to get any closer than this!"

From just seeing the closed door, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. But who knew what was going on in there?

Yoko looked at Simon and saw him getting ready to dash forward again. No doubt there would be more Messengers inside, just waiting for him to come barging in, but from the look on his face, he clearly didn't care.

"You're going in?" she asked.

He nodded.

"We'll be right behind you." She called to the others. "Gimmy, Kittan! Back me up, we're going in! Taboo, you take over things here!"

"But I--" Taboo began.

"You're injured, you'll just slow us down!" There was no time to argue any further. Yoko took aim at the Messengers standing in front of the computer room door and began firing.

As soon as the way was clear, Simon went running. Yoko and Gimmy followed, with Kittan at their backs again. They got there seconds after Simon did, his hand already on the door panel.

The door to the main computer room slid open, but instead of the usual dim interior, they were met with a blinding light show.

Beams flew around the room in a full spectrum of colors. At least three dozen Anti-Spiral Messengers crowded the place. Most of the computers were completely destroyed; the only thing left of them now were smoking piles of rubble. The fight in the halls had been chaotic enough, but this was complete mayhem. The computer room had been turned into a battlefield.

In the middle of the room, they could just barely see Nia, teleporting from place to place around the Lord Genome Head faster than a blink, both hands outstretched, straining to meet each of the Messengers' beams with her own. She was clearly overwhelmed.

Without another moment to lose, Simon strode into the room, walking straight through the maelstrom of beams. They bounced off the invisible barrier around him, but he hardly seemed to notice, focused only on getting to Nia.

By now, the remaining crew members led by Taboo had taken over the defense of the halls. Kittan turned around, took one look at the computer room, and deftly expressed all their thoughts. "Oh...shit."

Yoko gripped her rifle and took a deep breath. This battle was far from over.

 

* * *

  

Nia got to her father not a moment too soon. She appeared in the computer room at the same time they did, and the battle started immediately. It took every bit of her concentration to deflect the attacks, reading and anticipating all of her fellow Messengers' movements at once, not only within the scope of her vision, but from all sides. It pushed the limit of her ability as a single Messenger to the brink, but she could not fail. Not even for a second.

Minutes passed unbearably, unendingly. Occasionally her father would speak to her, but she could not spare the concentration to speak back.

"It is impossible for you to continue protecting me on your own for much longer," he droned from behind her.

 _I know_ , she wanted to say. But what choice did she have? Nia closed her eyes, and for the first time in weeks, let the programs take back control. No human mind could handle this. She had to become a machine.

"It is a useless endeavor to persist in this fashion. The logical conclusion is to leave this place while you are still able."

He was telling her to save herself. To leave him to be destroyed. And she could not pause to process this, to appreciate the full meaning of it, to understand why it made her heart hurt as it did, because the strain was starting to break her now, and she...she couldn't go on...but she had to...and Simon would come...this time, she was sure...any minute now, he would come and she just...had to...hold...on...

Then she sensed something strange. There was something interfering with the beams being shot from the front, as if they were being reflected off of something. She felt a gentle warmth envelop her, and the strain on her mind lessened.

She opened her eyes, and saw that she and the glass tank were now surrounded by a green light. And there Simon stood beside her, and she couldn't recall a time she felt more glad to see him.

At once, the programs were shoved away again, and she was no one but herself, clutching at him as if he tethered her to life itself.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

But the moment was brief. Her father's voice snapped them back to the present.

"Hm. A Spiral Power energy shield," he observed. "It would appear you have evolved even further since you were last attacked in this room."

"Save the explanations!" Simon said, bringing his arm around Nia's shoulders as they both turned to face the battle. "Don't worry, I'll handle the defense," he told her.

Nia nodded, but then hesitated. That meant she was the offense. Mind finally clear, she looked out at the room full of Messengers and realized where this battle was heading. They would have to attack her fellow Messengers.

This thought was affirmed by the sound of a gunshot, and a pained scream as one of the Messengers near the edge of the room was caught in a Spiral barrier and destroyed within. The scream echoed in her mind as it registered the loss, like that of a distant limb being cut off.

"NO!" Nia cried, and impulsively leapt forward as more shots rang out across the room.

"Nia!" Simon grabbed her before she could leave his barrier, shielding her in his arms. "What are you doing?!"

Another gunshot, another Messenger caught in a barrier, bursting into blocks and exploding piece by piece, its scream a final cry of humanity breaking through its programming.

Nia clutched her head. She felt sick.

It was worse than when she saw Manuku die. Perhaps it was because they were so close by, but when these Messengers were destroyed, fragments of their memories flew through her head, like she was seeing someone else's life flash before her eyes. A Messenger in his youth, laughing with friends. Another, giving birth to her first child. Another, seeing a parent pass away.

"Stop...stop..." Nia groaned, but it did not stop.

Soon back-up arrived, crew members with more weapons. They all kept their backs to the walls, circling around the room and herding the Messengers towards the center. She heard Kittan whoop, "All right, guys! Let's exterminate these pests!"

No, they weren't pests. They were all people once. Just like her.

"I'm sorry," Simon said in her ear. "We can't let them cause any more damage."

"I know." She gripped his arm around her waist. "I know, but..."

She knew. This was how battles were. Both sides had to keep killing each other, until one side either retreated, surrendered or was wiped out. She knew. That even if they weren't killed here, the Messengers would all die once the Anti-Spirals were defeated. But still, she wanted to try...

She looked up at him. "Please, Simon. I want to give them a chance."

Simon sighed. He wasn't happy about it, there was no doubt about that. But still, he nodded. "I'll be here if you need me." He let her go.

Nia smiled gratefully. She stepped out of his energy shield and began walking toward the Messengers among the chorus of beams and gunshots.

"Hey Simon, get her out of there!" Kittan yelled. "She's gettin' in the way!"

But Simon said nothing, standing resolutely by her father's tank. Nia could feel his gaze on her back. It gave her strength.

When she neared the middle of the room, she raised her arms and shouted. "STOP!" She didn't expect them to at once, but surprisingly, the Messengers listened. They paused in their attacks, watching her.

But the humans took this as an opportunity to pick off the Messengers and continued shooting. Nia turned to them with a cold glare. Something about her expression must have spoke to them, because gulping, they too soon halted their attacks.

The room fell silent and gloomy once more. Only the glowing red outlines of the Messengers and the green glow from Simon and the Lord Genome Head illuminated the darkness.

"What's the deal...?" she heard someone say, but she did not answer. Nia turned to the Messengers and took a deep breath.

"My fellow Messengers," she said to them. "I implore you, stop this attack at once! Don't you see you're fighting someone else's war? Nothing good can come of this. Only innocents will lose their lives in this battle, both you and the people you are fighting."

Someone shouted in the background. "Yeah, get out of here!"

But Nia shook her head. "No, I don't wish you to leave. I wish you to listen. And," she extended her hand to them. "I wish you to join me."

One of the humans grumbled, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," but it was quickly followed by a "Shhh!" from what sounded like Yoko. Nia smiled.

"You know me as the Irregular, the Messenger who turned her back on the Anti-Spirals. But I know myself as the Messenger who chose life over death, love over servitude. If you stay as you are, you will have no future. You know this. And I know this isn't what you really want. You don't want to be enslaved, you don't want to be forced to terrorize your own people. You don't want to be killed for a cause you yourself don't believe in."

None of them spoke. They merely stared at her silently.

"You all had lives once. Think back to your past selves. Look deep into your memories. I'm sure you all had someone you cared for. Someone who cared for you. Wouldn't you like to see them again? Speak with them, laugh with them, feel their warmth again?"

She looked among the Messengers, and found a young face in the crowd. It was a child, much shorter than the others, with soft budding horns in a head of bushy brown hair. He had only recently been turned. Maybe she could reach him.

Nia approached him, cupped his face in her hands. The child stared up at her, face blank. Nia searched the fringes of her mind for that same face, digging up faint memories. Then she looked down upon him, smiling gently.

"See? I was right. You do have a family. A mother, a father, a sister and brother. They must be worried sick for you now. Do you remember that day by the river? It's one of your brightest memories. You caught a large fish, and your parents were so proud. Your brother was jealous, but you gave him your dessert, and he forgave you in the end."

The child's eyes widened, just slightly. But that was enough. She was reaching him.

"I'm sure he will forgive you, even now. And so will everyone else. They'll welcome you back with open arms, I'm sure, because they're your family. Because they love you."

The child's eyes watered, just slightly. Not enough for tears, but that was enough.

"I know, you love them too. Deep down, you miss them terribly. You want to go back. And you can. Please, come with me. I'm sure there's a way for you to be saved. For all of us to be saved."

The child opened his mouth, just slightly. He looked like he was about to say something. Nia nodded encouragingly. A word began to form on his lips.

And then he began to disappear.

Nia stared, shocked, as his body gradually dissolved into fragments of light. She knew what this was. He was being erased.

"No...wait..." She quickly tried to gather the fragments in her arms, but it was futile. He faded away. Within seconds, he had ceased to exist.

Then, the other Messengers spoke. "Foolish Irregular. Did you think we would repeat the same mistake?" They spoke as one voice, the voice of the Anti-Spirals. "We said we would take your treachery into account. We have no need for a Messenger who cannot follow orders. The instant we sense that one is becoming irregular, we will erase it, without hesitation. There is no escape. For them, there is only death or servitude."

Nia couldn't speak. She couldn't get the image of that young face out of her mind. It was her fault. She had caused the child to awaken. And now he was gone. Because of her.

"Yes," the Messengers said, and this time they were speaking for themselves. "We are not special. We are only tools. There will always be others to replace us."

"No..." Nia fell to her knees.

"Yes. Don't you remember, Sister? The valley with all your siblings? Cast aside, unneeded, forgotten. Trapped in their cold little coffins, unable to escape. They could not be saved. We can not be saved. Sister, Sister, you cannot save us."

They continued echoing the word. "Sister. Sister. Sister." Over and over again. Nia couldn't stand it, put her hands over her ears, but couldn't block it out. The word blended with the memories from the child, from Manuku, from all the other dead Messengers. She couldn't stand it.

Behind her, Simon was shouting, "Nia, snap out of it! NIA!" but the voices drowned him out, chanting and chanting, the world becoming a blur...

Then, the sound of Yoko's rifle rang out. The Messengers suddenly fell silent.

Nia blinked. Slowly, she lowered her hands from her ears and looked back. In the rear of the room, a Messenger stood with its hand in the air, the remnants of a deflected beam disintegrating before it. It took a second for Nia to realize that the beam had been aimed at Simon, whose shield had weakened.

"Simon, would you _please_ pay attention?!" Yoko snapped.

And then Nia understood. She had been distracting him.

The Anti-Spirals foresaw everything. That she would be here to protect her father. That Simon would come join her. And that she would try to save the other Messengers...

That had been their plan all along. Nia recognized the strategy now. She'd used them so many times herself. Allowing the enemy to think they've won, let them feel hope, only to snatch it away at the last second, plunging them into despair. They did this knowing that Simon would worry for her, and as soon as his guard was down and everyone's attention was drawn, they would take out both him and her father in one fell swoop.

Looking back, the set-up was so obvious, but crafted in a way that they could not help falling for it. And it would have worked, if it weren't for Yoko's interference.

With the plan foiled, the Messengers resumed attacking, turning their beams on Simon and firing at once. But Simon grit his teeth and strengthened his shield. The humans soon retaliated, shooting at the Messengers again.

Once more, Nia was caught in the middle of a battlefield.

"Nia!" She heard Simon call and looked at him. He held his hand out to her. He wanted her to return to safety.

She stared at him blankly for a second. He, too, could have just died because of her. Because she had fallen into their trap.

She looked around in a daze. Along a far wall, she recognized one of the young crew members she had gotten to know in the past few days, a second before he got hit by a beam in the face. Smoking, his body slid to the floor. He never even had a chance to cry out.

Another flash of memories streamed through her head as a Messenger on the other side of the room was destroyed. Among them, a memory from only a few minutes ago, where deep inside, despite knowing it was all a trap, the Messenger couldn't help but feel a spark of hope at Nia's words...

Something snapped within her then. Enough. She had had enough.

Nia got back to her feet. A beam came from her right. Without even looking, she deflected it with a beam from her right hand.

She was done being manipulated. No more.

A bullet came flying from her left. She destroyed it with another beam.

Maybe she couldn't save them, but there still had to be _something_ she could do...

Nia looked to see where the nearest Messenger was, a few steps away.

After so much time preparing, calling back all the Messengers from their missions, analyzing her insecurities, the Anti-Spirals still had a gaping hole in their plan. They could not take into account something they could not foresee, either because they were too blind to see it, or because their opponent could not plan it themselves.

Nia had no plan. And for the moment, maybe that was for the best.

She turned to the Messenger. "If I am to be the only Anti-Spiral Messenger to survive, then so be it. But you will not be forgotten. Your feelings, your lives, your sacrifice...even if you are forgotten by time, I will never forget you!"

Then, an idea sparked. Not sure if it was possible, she moved anyway, teleporting up to the Messenger and putting her palm to its face.

"So please...come with me. Let's move toward tomorrow, together." She closed her eyes.

"What are you..." the Messenger began, then gasped.

Even after all the times the Anti-Spirals had analyzed her, reaching into her mind to extract her memories, Nia had never considered whether she was capable of doing the same. But now, she knew. Now that she was breaking into the very hive mind that she had been cut off from.

Somewhere in the din of battle, Nia heard her father's voice drone. "Hacking activated. Proceeding to infiltrate..." Soon after, every Messenger in the room began to groan.

Nia strengthened her concentration, pushing past the first Messenger's mind and reaching for the others. They were all connected. If she followed the hive mind, she should be able to find all of them, even the ones who weren't in the room.

The Anti-Spirals immediately pushed back. Nia grit her teeth, trying to keep from being forced out again.

A billion minds against her own. The last time Nia tried to fight this battle, it was her complete loss.

But this time, she wasn't alone. When she was pushed into a corner, Nia found that a hole opened up for her to escape from. And as she made her way through the hive mind, again and again, she came across firewalls that had already been broken. Her father was in there with her, clearing paths.

One by one, Nia found the other Messengers, and one by one, she transfered their data into her own mind.

"Not...possible..." the Messengers groaned.

But it was working. She took in their thoughts, their memories. Not just bits and pieces. She downloaded entire personalities.

"Simon _will_ save me. I will live on, and so all of you will live on inside of me. I will carry you, all of you...my brothers and sisters."

As she went on, Nia found it increasingly difficult to elude the Anti-Spirals. The amount of data she was accumulating slowed her down. But she couldn't stop, not until she had everyone.

"Don't worry, you will all be able to meet your loved ones again. I know it isn't much, but I will take you to them. Even if it takes my whole life, I promise, you will all have your due time."

One more Messenger left. With the Anti-Spirals right at her heels, Nia hurried to it, and found it waiting for her with open arms. Nia ran into its embrace, quickly taking it into herself. "It's okay," she assured it, "I won't leave you behind."

A second later, she was expelled from the hive mind. The force of it thrust her from her own consciousness, and suddenly, everything was chaos.

She was drowning in a sea of souls. The other Messengers, like a mass of writhing bodies, surrounded her. In their confusion, everyone fought to reach the top, to achieve dominance.

Above, she saw, as if through someone else's eyes, her body collapse to the floor. She heard, as if through someone else's ears, people calling her name. But she could not call back.

Weak from her endeavors, Nia found herself sinking down, down...

Then a green light, outstretched like a hand, plunged into the depths of her mind. It reached blindly for something, and she heard a familiar voice cry, _Nia! NIA!_

Using the last of her strength, she struggled upwards, pushing past the masses until she could just barely grasp his hand.

In a rush, she was pulled back up, and Nia awoke, gasping.

"Nia! Come on, talk to me!"

She stared blearily up into Simon's face. He was kneeling on the floor with her in his arms. He looked pale.

"Simon...it's okay, I'm here."

He let out a sigh of relief. "God...don't scare me like that."

Nia touched her lips. They felt warm. She realized that his mouth had just been on hers, but not as a kiss.

"What...did you do...?"

He blinked. "I don't know. I just...thought that might help."

"Are you all right?" Yoko's voice.

Nia looked up to see that all the humans were gathered around them, peering down at her worriedly.

"Are the Messengers all gone?"

Yoko nodded. "It...looked like you _absorbed_ them all."

"Yes...they're all inside me now." Nia put her hand to her chest.

"And you'll be able to keep them in line?" Gimmy asked nervously.

"They are no longer under the Anti-Spirals' control. They won't mean any harm. We were all a little shocked at first...none of us are used to sharing a body like this...but they are calming down now."

Simon shook his head. "That was a reckless thing to do," he said. But rather than looking upset, he had on a proud, loving smile.

Nia smiled back at him. But she could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her now. Whatever she needed to say, she had to say it quickly.

"Yoko...thank you for protecting Simon."

Yoko blinked in surprise. "Huh? I-I was just...I mean..." She looked away, flustered. "It's no problem..."

Next, though she couldn't see him, Nia spoke to him anyway. "Thank you, Father." He had moved on his own, without being ordered, just to help her. Perhaps that was his way of atoning. Either way, it made her happier than she could express.

Then she spoke to the Messengers. "I'm sorry...I've confined you in such a small space...I wish I could have given you more freedom..."

But the Messengers disagreed. In her mind, they clamored their thanks. This was more than they could have hoped for. They could think for themselves now. They didn't have to kill anymore. And they had a future they could believe in.

"Yes...don't worry, I'll keep my promise...I'll take you all, someday...to meet them..."

Her eyelids felt heavy, as if they had the weight of a hundred souls on them. She turned to Simon again. "I'm sorry...I'm feeling...so tired..."

"It's okay, you can rest," Simon said gently. "We'll take care of everything."

Nia gave a little nod, then closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

 

* * *

  

Afterwards, they allowed Simon to take Nia up to his room. Simon didn't return for the rest of the night, but since the two of them had already done so much, no one minded their absence.

Then, once the injured had been sent up to the medical bay, the crew got to the task of collecting all the dead. It had been a while since they'd had so many casualties. It was a large blow to their already dwindling numbers.

By the end of the day, they were all exhausted. In her room, Yoko collapsed on her bed, ready for sleep to take her.

But sleep wouldn't come.

For some reason, after everything that had happened that night, the one thing she kept seeing in her mind was Simon's face. That kind, warm, adoring smile...completely unguarded and genuine. So he was still capable of smiling like that...

Was she jealous that he had never looked at her that way? Maybe. But in a way, everything made sense now. Their relationship never really was like that, was it? He was never protective of her the way he was with Nia. He had never held her like that, like he truly cherished her...

In the end, maybe she was always just his comrade, the one he trusted with his back. Nia was the one he trusted with his heart.

Yoko rolled over in bed, tired of staring at the ceiling.

But then...maybe he _had_ been protective of her, just in a different way. After all, he kept what he knew about her and Kamina a secret for so long... He was trying to protect her feelings, not realizing that his silence only drove them apart.

And looking back, she could spot a hundred mistakes she'd made in her own inexperience and vulnerability. She thought that she had let all her feelings out, but in a way, she kept herself at as much of a distance as he did. She couldn't let herself become completely undone. Not for him, not for anybody. Not again.

Maybe, when it all came down to it, they were both just afraid of being hurt.

Yoko sighed. She would never get to sleep at this rate. Maybe she should just...no, that was stupid. He wouldn't want to talk to her.

But no matter how many times she thought she'd tried for the last time, she found herself trying again. Minutes later, Yoko stood in front of Simon's room. She hesitantly raised her hand to knock.

"Simon, it's me. ...Can we talk?"

He was probably asleep anyway. Even if he wasn't, he'd probably turn her away.

After a minute of silence, Yoko turned to leave, but then she heard his voice come from within.

"Come in."

Yoko paused. He wanted her to go in? But...wasn't Nia in there too...?

She touched the door panel, and when it slid open, she saw why he couldn't get up.

Simon sat at the head of the bed, Nia fast asleep beside him. She had her head in his lap, with one hand wrapped securely around his knee.

He shrugged sheepishly. "My legs fell asleep hours ago."

Yoko gave an exasperated sigh. "That's not healthy."

"She looks too comfortable."

"And what exactly were you planning to do if we were attacked again?"

"I guess I'd just have to drag myself to the bridge."

"Idiot."

She came in. The door closed behind her, plunging them into darkness. Uneasily, she sat on the edge of the bed. Come to think of it, the last time she was in this room, they were...

Well. This was awkward.

She cleared her throat. But now that she was here, she wasn't sure how to start.

When she didn't say anything for a while, Simon began instead, speaking quietly.

"Nia told me that you came to apologize this morning."

"Oh...yeah. I did."

"I appreciate it," he said, and as if to avoid looking at her, turned his attention to Nia instead. He stroked her hair softly.

"...You really love her, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do." He said it without any doubt or hesitation.

Yoko's heart hurt a little, but she smiled. "Well, I have to admit you two make a good match. You're both crazy."

He laughed a little.

Yoko examined him for a moment, in wonder at how mellow he was right now. Of course, he was trying to be quiet to avoid waking Nia, but...there was something else too. He seemed pensive, subdued.

"Seems nice. Being so sure and all."

"It's not like we had it easy."

"Right. After yesterday, I think I know a little more about that than I'd like."

He snorted.

She almost felt afraid to disrupt this atmosphere now. But who knew when he would be this receptive again?

"Still, that's one thing _we_ never had..."

Silence. The shift in mood was painful, but Simon seemed to have been expecting this. He looked up at her, waiting for her to go on.

Yoko took a deep breath. "I really mean it when I say I never meant to use you. I really was worried; I really was scared to lose you. But now I see that it just...couldn't have worked. Because what happened back then, with the Earth...it brought everything back, you know? About Kamina..."

She hesitated. Maybe she shouldn't have brought him up.

But Simon was still looking at her expectantly, so she continued.

"Honestly, I didn't _want_ to drag him into our relationship, but I..." She gulped. "...I just can't let him go. Especially around you."

And there was the crux of it. That man was so much a part of themselves and their connection to each other, he was impossible to ignore.

"It's stupid, I know. I only knew him for a few months. We only kissed twice. But here I am, after all this time, still thinking of him. And sometimes I can't help but realize just how really, really stupid that is..."

She paused, for a moment remembering his daring grin, flaming back, and straightforward passion that guided them farther than they thought possible.

"But then other times, I'd think of him again, and I'd realize..."

"It's not," Simon said suddenly, seriously. "I don't blame you. It's Bro, after all. I...feel the same way." He had a complicated expression on his face, one of regret and sympathy and longing and years of measuring himself against someone else.

"Simon..."

He shook his head. "Besides, I get it now. I've only known Nia for that long too."

And somehow, that was all that really needed to be said.

Yoko looked at Nia, a smile tugging on her lips. "It's only been that long, huh...?" So much had happened since she entered their lives, it was a little hard to believe.

Simon nodded, then fell silent again, stroking Nia's hair thoughtfully.

The relaxed atmosphere returned. Tender, quiet, comfortable.

Yoko sat back a little, overcome with an immense feeling of relief.

This. This was what she'd wanted all along. Why things had to get so complicated before they got to this point, she would never know. But they finally made it.

Some minutes passed, and Yoko got up. "Well, I guess I should leave you two alone now."

"Wait," Simon said. "Yoko...could you do me a favor?"

She glanced back at him. "Depends on what it is."

Simon faltered for a second, but then nodded to himself, making up his mind. "Could you look out for her, when I'm not able to?"

This gave her pause. "...What do you mean?"

"Right now, I'm the only one on her side. Me, the most wanted man in the universe." He looked down at Nia with an ironic smile. "For the future she wants...she really could use another friend. That's all."

"...Why are you asking _me?_ "

This time he turned his gaze to her, seeking for assurance. "Because I need someone I can count on." She could sense that this was important to him, as if some momentous decision lay behind it.

Yoko took a shaky breath, overwhelmed by the amount of trust he was suddenly putting in her. "Okay. I promise."

He let out a sigh. "Thanks."

She turned to leave, unsure if she should be touched or concerned. The door opened, and she was about to step out of the room, when Simon spoke to her again.

"By the way, I think Kittan's been crushing on you for a while."

She froze outside the door. "I've noticed," she said back, curtly.

"All right. Just saying. You tend to be oblivious to that sort of thing."

And with that final exchange, the door closed behind her.


	18. Promises (Part 1)

Rubble crunched beneath Simon's boots as he surveyed the smoldering ruins around him. As far as he could see, the ground lay flat and scorched, the very picture of hell. Nothing survived. Nothing _could_ survive.

"Good," he sneered. "Now they can never bother us again."

He stared at the dark red horizon. He had seen many like it before, and he would see many more yet. His life was now only a constant cycle of blood and fire.

He heard a soft clink.

"Nia?"

She had wandered off, trailing behind her the silver chain that connected their wrists. In her white dress, she almost seemed to glow in the darkness, like a pale ghost.

Wordlessly, she crouched beside a heap of debris and began brushing at the ash with her fingers. Within seconds, she had unearthed a body, no doubt alien, but all its features had been burnt away.

Nia stared impassively at the corpse. She did not weep or make a sound. Her face showed not the tiniest hint of sadness or pity.

Simon couldn't recall how long it had been since he’d last heard her voice. He never thought he would long to see her look at him with hatred or sorrow, but it would be better than this. Now, there was nothing. All her passion, faded away. Now, he could not find even the faintest glimmer of what he'd once fallen for in her eyes.

It was all his fault.

Simon tugged at the chain. "Come on," he said, gritting his teeth. "We're going to the next one."

Silently, she stood and returned to his side. She was nothing if not obedient. He turned away as she approached; he could barely stand to look at her anymore.

Sometimes, Simon asked himself if there had been any point in doing anything. In the end, all was the same. Yes, he'd fulfilled his promise. He’d saved her. But in the process, lost her.

 

* * *

  

Simon awoke with a jolt. Gone was the red horizon, replaced by a dark ceiling. He stared up at it, breathing heavily, hands gripping the sheets.

Then at last, slowly, he turned his head.

Nia slept quietly beside him in bed, long hair splayed across her pillow. She was still the Anti-Spiral Messenger. Still the same Nia he’d always known.

Relief flooded him immediately. But it did nothing to dispel his horror.

He covered his face with his hands. “Dammit...”

He didn’t know how long he lay there, unwittingly playing the dream over and over in his mind. Something was different about this one. Dreams of battle, dreams of earthquakes, dreams where he lost everyone important to him...no matter how real they felt, he had seen them so often, he was almost used to them. But this one was new...and yet it felt just as unnervingly possible.

So what did it mean? How did it come to pass? What could he do to avoid it?

Before he knew it, he’d gotten out of bed and found himself wandering the halls towards the main computer room, or what was left of it. The door slid open to darkness, with only the Lord Genome Head’s tank glowing in the center.

“Now this is a surprise,” Lord Genome said as he came in.

“Shut up,” Simon mumbled. “I need to think.” He sat down in front of the tank.

After a few minutes, Lord Genome spoke again. “Have you changed your mind?”

Simon frowned. “No. And I said shut up.”

“You have yet to come to your senses, then?”

“I still stand by what I said yesterday: We’ll find another way.”

“You are acting like a stubborn child.”

“Well, no one asked for your opinion, old man.”

“Then why are you here?”

“...Tch.” Come to think of it, in the past, the only reason he ever came to this room was because he wanted to know something. Simon couldn’t deny that instinctively, he might have come here seeking advice.

“It is what Nia wants.”

“I know that.” Simon glared at him. “But what am I supposed to do? Just accept it without a word? _Someone’s_ got to stand up for her, especially if she won’t do it herself.”

“She is no longer a child, or a doll.”

“I don’t need _you_ telling me that!” Simon growled. “Besides, doesn’t this mean I’d just be giving up on her as she is now? I can’t do that.”

“Which do you care to save more? Her body, or her soul?”

“What?” What kind of question was that? He felt insulted. But then he froze, suddenly reminded of the Nia from his dream. No...could it be...was that Nia the result of this plan, or the result of him rejecting it...?

He buried his head in his hands. “God... _dammit!_ This isn’t what I wanted!"

“We are running out of time.”

“I know.” And he had only himself to blame for that.

“It may not be a perfect solution, but it is a solution all the same. Seizing at the slightest possibility and making it succeed, no matter the odds...was that not the way you did things?”

“This is different. Her _life_ is at stake.”

“Were you not always ready to take risks, even if it meant risking everything?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s right.” Simon sighed. “But now, when I look back at everything I’ve done...I wish I’d been more careful. Then maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation...”

Lord Genome was silent for a moment. “...That is true. However, you must also beware the dangers of being _too_ careful. It is only because you were willing to take risks that you have come this far. If not for that, my daughter would still be a slave, and humanity would be no closer to defeating the Anti-Spirals. It is among the reasons why you are capable of going where I could not.”

Simon looked up in surprise. This wasn’t a biological computer speaking. Nor was it the Spiral King. These were the words of a Spiral Knight.

Lord Genome’s eyes narrowed. “Heed my words, boy. Do _not_ let go of this chance. It may never come again.”

 

* * *

  

In the midst of the battle against the Anti-Spiral Messengers, beams flew in every direction, taking people down left and right with sizzling flashes.

Standing back-to-back in the hallway with the other crew members, Boota resisted the urge to lean against the person behind him. There was no time to rest, let alone bandage his wound. He continued shooting with his right hand, trying to ignore the dull ache in his left shoulder.

He looked to Simon at his side and saw his friend staring at the door of the computer room with single-minded determination. He probably hadn’t realized the extent of his injury yet, and for the moment, Boota wanted to keep it that way. Simon didn’t need any distractions right now. He needed to remain focused on getting to Nia, or else they were all done for.

From his stance, it seemed he was about to run toward the door. Boota prepared himself to follow. But then he heard Yoko shout.

“Gimmy, Kittan! Back me up, we’re going in! Taboo, you take over things here!”

Caught off guard, he began to protest. “But I--”

“You’re injured, you’ll just slow us down!” And without another word, she began firing at the Messengers in front of the door.

Boota grit his teeth. Damn. He’d come this far; how could he be stopped now? But she was right. That room was now the center of the hornets nest; he could do little to help in his condition.

So Boota did as he was told, taking charge of the defense of the hallway instead. The crew responded to his orders at once, and as Simon and the others took off, they quickly reformed into tight circles. His days serving on the main bridge had prepared him for this much at least.

Regretfully, he watched as Simon and the others disappeared into the computer room. The door closed behind them, and didn’t open again until back-up arrived, and Boota waved them in, hoping that they might provide some help.

After that, there was no telling what went on in there, and things were chaotic enough out in the hall to risk taking another look. All they could do was try to survive, and hope that those inside were alright.

The battle dragged on. Then suddenly, the Messengers began screaming and clutching their heads.

Alarmed, they all stopped firing to stare in shock. What was going on? What was happening to them?

“Sir, what do we do...?”

Before he could think of an answer, the Messengers began to disappear. Gradually, one by one, they vanished from sight, until at last the hall fell completely silent.

Everyone looked around. Not a single Messenger remained.

“Is it...over?” asked a crew member.

“Don’t let your guard down!” Boota warned. “This could just be a trick!”

But through the silence, they heard yelling from inside the computer room. Simon’s voice, sounding desperate. “Nia! Wake up! _NIA!_ ”

For a moment, Boota feared the worst. Automatically, he moved toward the door, but stumbled, suddenly light-headed. He looked down at his shoulder. The entire left side of his uniform was soaked through with blood.

Simon’s yelling stopped. They held their breath. Minutes ticked by slowly.

“What’s happening in there?” someone wondered aloud.

Boota moved toward the door again, but then it opened in front of him, and Simon walked out, carrying Nia in his arms.

At once, Simon’s eye widened at the sight of the blood staining Boota’s uniform. “You...”

But Boota cut him off. “How is she?”

“...She’s fine. She’s sleeping.”

“And the Messengers?”

“They’re gone.”

Boota let out a sigh of relief. And with that relief, the strength in his legs finally gave out.

“HEY!”

Someone caught him from behind. Boota grunted at the impact on his shoulder; adrenaline had dulled the pain during battle, but now he felt it fully.

Hazily, he saw Yoko come out of the room next, followed by the others fighters. Seeing his condition, she at once started issuing orders to take care of the wounded. People began scrambling; the hall was full of activity once again.

Boota was gently lowered to the floor. Simon lay Nia down, then knelt beside him.

“Where did they hit you?!”

“My left shoulder.”

Simon immediately applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. Boota grunted again.

“Hang in there, buddy! Stay with me!”

Boota looked up at him. Simon’s face was dead serious, his jaw clenched. He could already see what must be going through his head, plain as day. But he doubted a simple ‘don’t worry’ would work.

“There is something...not right...about this situation,” Boota gasped.

“What?” Simon said distractedly.

“Normally, _you’re_...the one...who’s a complete mess. _I’m_...supposed to be...taking care of _you_.”

Despite himself, the corner of Simon’s mouth twitched. “...Shut up.”

Boota glanced at Nia, still asleep. It must have been a very deep sleep for her not to awaken with all this commotion. But if she’d held up against the Messengers for this long by herself, she _must_ be exhausted.

“So...she did it, did she?” he asked.

This time, Simon managed a pained smile. “Yeah. She was amazing.”

Before long, Boota was taken by stretcher to the medical bay, which was in complete chaos by the time they arrived. Luckily, there were still two beds available for Boota and Nia to use, but the doctor was already busy caring for other patients.

A nurse hurried over, and Simon hovered restlessly as she checked Boota’s condition.

“Well?!” he snapped at her.

“He’s lost a lot of blood. He’ll need a transfusion...” But the nurse hesitated. It was clear what she was thinking. Would human blood even work?

“Use pigmole blood,” Simon said.

The nurse blinked. “D-do we have any in storage...?”

“Yeah, I made sure of it. It should be in his type too. Now _hurry!_ ”

The nurse rushed off.

Boota looked at him in surprise. “When did you do that...?”

“Three years ago,” Simon said quietly.

Come to think of it, Simon did take him to the medical bay immediately after he became humanoid. There, he’d been put through a number of tests, including getting some blood drawn. It was only natural; they’d never seen a creature transform like that before, and Simon wanted to make sure he was at least healthy. But to think he’d gotten this prepared as well...

At last, the doctor came over and began treating him. At the same time, a new wave of patients were brought in, crew members suffering similar injuries. Simon was forced to carry Nia in his arms again in order to free up her bed.

Boota sighed. “Simon...I’ll be all right. Please...just take care of Nia. You don’t have to worry.”

Simon seemed reluctant, but he must have realized they were just getting in the way now.

“I’ll come back in the morning. If you need anything, make sure you speak up.”

Boota nodded. The painkillers were starting to kick in now. As soon as Simon left, he too fell into a long, deep sleep.

 

* * *

  

Sure enough, Simon came to check on him the next day. By then, Boota was sitting up in bed, left arm in a sling.

They talked for a while, before Boota asked, “I don’t suppose Nia needs an escort anymore?”

Simon smirked. “She’s practically being hailed as a hero.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“She makes it look so damn easy.”

They shared a laugh over that.

Soon after, Boota asked again. “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

Simon just patted him on the head, ruffling his hair. “The only thing you need to do is get some rest and heal that shoulder.”

Coming from Simon, that was a bit rich. But as he lay back in bed later, pensively tidying his mussed up hair, Boota decided to listen for now.

The next time Simon visited, Nia came along too. After taking one look at his bandaged shoulder, she bowed her head regretfully. “I’m sorry.”

Boota blinked at her. “You weren’t at fault.”

“It is an apology from the Messenger who shot you.”

“...Ah.”

And so he learned about Nia’s unique arrangement with the Messengers.

“It feels a little like I am connected with the hive mind again, but different,” she said. “It feels more personal, and we are much more individualized. In a way, it is both nostalgic and very new.”

Nia went on like this for quite a while, explaining the promise she had made to them. It was clear she could not contain her enthusiasm. Simon, in contrast, stood to the side, largely silent and standoffish. It struck Boota then that Simon did not seem entirely happy with this development.

When he thought about it, it made sense. He’d seen Simon’s jealousy when it came to another Messenger before. And this time, Nia had essentially dedicated her _life_ to them.

He asked him about it the next day. “I thought you must be used to this sort of thing by now.”

Simon snorted. “Sure. My girlfriend has a crowd of people living in her head. Nothing new about that!”

Boota stared at him until Simon finally turned serious, sighing, “Well yeah, it’s not like we had much privacy in the first place. Doesn’t mean it’s not still weird.”

“Have you told her how you feel about it?”

Simon glanced away. “No.” He crossed his arms. “I mean, she wanted to help them, and I let her. I can’t exactly ask her to kick them out now, can I?” He shifted in his seat. “Besides, she really believes in this. Being able to help those Messengers makes her happy. So...what else can I do but just put up with it?”

“I see...” To his surprise, rather than feeling for Simon, Boota suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for Nia. Come to think of it, after he turned humanoid, he too was giddy at the prospect of being able to help Simon, of finally being useful. Of course, in reality, it wasn’t so easy as that.

“And what of your goal? Is Leeron helping you as he said he would?”

Instantly, Simon’s expression darkened. “...Yeah.”

“You’re making progress, then?”

“I guess.”

“Are you getting any closer to finding a solution?”

Simon abruptly stood up and began pacing. “I don’t know, okay? Maybe.”

And that was as far as he would reveal. Boota could only assume that the effort to save Nia had gone south again.

That night, as he lay awake in bed, Boota wondered if there was something that he could do. But the answer was obvious. If not even Leeron could help, then what could he possibly contribute? Always, when it came to the most important matters, he found himself useless. Perhaps, after all, the most he could do was to stay here, to put Simon’s mind at ease. To be one less thing to worry about.

But at the same time...he could not stand the thought of being left behind. Though Simon tried to visit at least once a day, he still felt increasingly out of the loop. And with everyone so busy, he feared that eventually, he might just be forgotten.

Boota tried flexing his arm, just a little, and pain shot through his shoulder. Even with Spiral Power speeding his recovery, how long would it take him to heal? Weeks? Months? It was humiliating, being put out of action by something so little. It wasn’t as if he’d been shot in the face.

The more he thought about it, the more he regretted not going with Simon into that room. So what if, once there, he couldn’t have done anything? That wasn’t the point. The point was that he wasn’t able to keep up.

Nia had told him once that it mattered simply for him to stay at Simon’s side, and he took those words to heart...but in the previous battle, he’d failed to do even that. In that case, what was he good for?

Boota sighed. He didn’t want to stew on such things, but he had little else to do. And the longer he stayed, the more frustrated he felt.

A few days later, his restlessness finally boiled over, and Boota left the medical bay.

Now he stood on the deck where they kept the pigmoles. Most had long been taken to the colony, of course, but they still had a few remaining on board in case of food shortages. Snorting, they lay around lethargically in their pen. Perhaps his blood donor was among them. Or perhaps it had already been eaten.

Nevertheless, Boota took a small bag out of his pocket, something he had just retrieved from his room. It was filled with dirt that he had collected from the colony. He used to smell it sometimes, just for old times sake.

“Here,” he said, emptying the bag in their pen. “It’s not much, but I imagine you don’t get to see much of this anymore either.”

Curiously, the pigmoles stood and approached. With their wide snouts, they sniffed at the dirt, then began jostling each other in a frantic rush to either lick it or roll around in it, squealing excitedly.

Boota watched them, feeling not pity or sympathy, but simply alienated. They were the closest thing he had to family, yet he had never actually bothered to visit them before. He had always felt closer to humans than he did to his fellow pigmoles, and after turning humanoid, he often wondered if he ought to even identify as a pigmole anymore. In a way, he’d turned his back on his own kind...so he supposed it was only fair that they no longer recognized him as one of their own either.

...If he didn’t have Simon, where would he go? What would he do? Who would he _be?_ He’d chosen to become like this, something neither human nor pigmole. And for what? To pay back Simon, without whom he would have died a long time ago. But was that all? Was it really just for Simon’s sake? Or for his own?

Suddenly, he heard a voice. " _There_ you are!"

Speak of the devil. Turning, he saw his friend come stomping over from the doorway.

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?!"

Boota looked away. "You didn't have to."

“The hell are you doing here?” Simon looked past him at the pigmoles, raising an eyebrow.

“Giving my thanks.”

“Well, let’s get you back to the medical bay. You need your rest.”

But Boota didn’t move. “No.”

“What?”

He sighed. “I’m not going back there. I’ve tried my best to sit still and rest, but I can’t take another day of it. Surely there’s something better I can do.”

"What about your shoulder?"

"It's fine."

Simon paused, then put a hand on his shoulder.

Boota choked down a gasp of pain. But Simon noticed.

"Look, I don't want to throw your words back at you..."

"I'm _fine_."

"...but why don't you just save your strength for when you really need it?"

"And when would that be exactly? I fail to see how it would make any difference."

“ _What?_ ”

Boota looked at him. “Let’s not kid ourselves, Simon. Has this arm of mine ever done anything useful? Even once it heals, would it be of any help at all? If not...then what’s the point?”

Simon scowled. “So what, you’re just going to hang around for no reason and risk getting yourself even more hurt?”

He knew it was stubborn. He knew it was selfish. But he wanted to stay at Simon’s side, no matter what. That was his role. “Yes.”

“You...” For a second, Simon seemed ready to bite back. But then suddenly, all the fight left him. “...You idiot.” His shoulders slumped. “Do you even understand what that means? That injury of yours...it was meant for me. You only got hit because you were running right behind me. We were lucky it was just your shoulder, but it could’ve been worse. A lot worse.”

Oh no. He was afraid that might be weighing on his mind. “There were beams flying all over the place,” Boota quickly countered. “I could have been hit even if I were nowhere near you. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe,” Simon said, his voice nearly a whisper. “But this could easily happen again. And I don’t want your blood on my hands.”

Boota sighed. He hated seeing him like this. “I understand. But please, at least allow me to remain involved. Even if I have nothing to offer, being put on the sidelines is more unbearable than any injury.”

He was reduced to pleading. How pathetic. But somehow, he had a feeling that this argument had more riding on it than whether he’d have to stay in bed a few more days. He had to take a stand, for his own sake.

They stared each other down for a moment, neither budging. Then at last, Simon heaved a frustrated sigh. “Goddammit. No one does what I want...”

He ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, I get it. If you want something to do that badly, could you deliver a message for me?"

Boota nodded resignedly.

"Track down Yoko and the others. Tell them we're having a meeting tonight."

Boota blinked. "Don't tell me...you've reached a solution?"

Simon looked at the floor. "Yeah."

"...Congratulations," Boota said, puzzled. So they'd made some kind of breakthrough? But Simon didn’t seem very thrilled about it...

"So will you go find them?"

"...All right. I'll go."

"Thanks."

He followed Simon out of the room, staring morosely at his back as they walked down the hall.

Delivering messages. That was something he used to do often after he first turned humanoid. During that first year, he would march proudly down these halls, fulfilling his duty even as the sleeves of his oversized uniform dragged along the floor. He was simply eager to help, no matter how small the task.

What a child he was back then. Did he ever really do anything useful? Perhaps, by delivering those messages, he'd only enabled Simon to further distance himself from others. And now here he was, back to doing the same thing. Sure, the uniform fit him now, but besides that, he hadn't progressed at all.

 

* * *

  

Fucking great. In trying to placate Boota, he’d gone and said it. Now he had to back up those words, didn’t he? Just great.

First things first: he had to talk it out with Nia. So Simon headed to the common room she usually stayed in around this time.

Taking a deep breath, he walked in to find the room empty but for Nia. But she wasn’t alone.

"I suppose it can’t be helped. If Simon doesn’t want to...yes, I am aware. I do hope he changes his mind, but..."

She stood by the window, staring blankly out at the stars, muttering softly to herself.

"I know. Please don't worry. I haven’t forgotten my promise."

This was becoming a familiar sight, but it was still a bit disconcerting. Before, when she’d communicated with the Anti-Spiral hive mind, she had always been silent, so he never paid much attention to it. Now, he always found himself wondering what those other Messengers were saying to her out of earshot.

Finally, Nia noticed his reflection in the window. “Ah...Simon. I’m sorry, how long were you...?”

“Not long.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and came to stand next to her.

“Um...did you sleep very much last night? You weren’t there when I awoke, so I was worried...”

“I had a bad dream, so I went for a walk,” he said.

“Oh...”

By now she knew that he did not like discussing his dreams, so thankfully, she didn’t ask further. Instead, she tried to change the subject. “You know, I’ve started having dreams myself recently.”

That got his attention. “Really?”

She nodded. “Though I suppose they are the Messengers’ memories playing in my mind as I sleep more than anything. But it is interesting. I have been able to see many of their homelands already. Some of the places are very beautiful, and some are very harsh, but even then, the warmth of family and friends helps make them a little bearable.” She smiled. “I look forward to seeing them with my own eyes someday.”

Simon frowned. He tried very hard not to resent the Messengers, but sometimes he couldn’t help it. “Have you had any dreams of your own yet?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. Still, I feel very blessed. After all, it is thanks to you that I’ve learned how to sleep again, and now it is thanks to them that I have remembered what it’s like to dream.”

It was such a simple, natural thing, but she treated it as if it were a great gift. And here he was, having spent the whole morning consumed by doubt because of one dream.

In the end, maybe there was no meaning to it at all, just like any of the other nonsensical terrors he experienced in his sleep. There was no point in spending so much time mulling over something that might never make sense. And if he had no way of knowing if he was right or wrong, then he might as well let Nia decide. Whatever came after, he would just have to deal with it when it happened.

Simon sighed. “Nia, I thought it over.”

She looked at him.

“...Are you _sure_ this is what you want?”

Nia hesitated. For a second, he wished that she would say no. But instead, in a very measured voice, she replied, “I...believe this is the method that best conserves Spiral Power. If I am to be saved, then...this is the way that I would prefer.”

She looked at her hands. “Besides, I think that, if I am to be truly free of the Anti-Spirals, I must shed this vessel that they made for me. So that I can live, not as a part of them, but as a separate organism. ...If it were possible, that’s what I would wish for the other Messengers as well.”

Now he felt even more torn. The way she spoke of it sounded so...clinical, and he just couldn’t see it that way. But...she did have a point.

“...All right.”

Nia let out a sigh of relief. She turned to him, smiling. “Thank you, Simon.”

“But on one condition: I’m coming with you.”

Her smile faltered. “I...think it would be much easier if I went alone...”

“No. You’ll be completely defenseless down there. And if something goes wrong...” He looked out the window, glowering. “If that’s the method you want, then fine. I’ll make _sure_ it succeeds. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you. No matter what it takes, I’ll get you out of there alive. Just as I promised, I’ll grab hold of your future with my own two hands. You can be sure of that.”

That's right. A dream was just a dream, it didn’t mean anything. He couldn’t allow himself to be held back by something like that, not with Nia’s life on the line. As long as she remained true to her convictions, so would he to his. No matter the result.

 

* * *

  

Later that day, they all gathered in the conference room. As before, Simon, Nia, and Boota sat at one side of the table, with Yoko, Kittan, and Gimmy at the other. Leeron and the Lord Genome Head's faces appeared on screens in the middle of the table.

"So, is it true that you've figured out a way to save Nia?" asked Yoko.

Simon nodded. "We've also got the plan to defeat the Anti-Spirals pretty much figured out."

"What? Seriously?"

"Mmhmm," Leeron said. "But let's start at the beginning. I analyzed the data you sent me, and comparing it to the Lord Genome Head's analysis, we came to the same conclusion: There's simply no way to salvage Nia's current body. Not permanently, at least."

"As a virtual being, Nia's body is sustained by the Anti-Spiral hive mind," Lord Genome explained. "Thus, if she is separated from it, she will cease to exist."

"We've gone over it again and again, and that's what we keep coming to. At best, it might be possible to maintain her form using Spiral Power, but it wouldn’t last long or be very reliable."

Gimmy blinked. "So...what are we going to do then?"

"Why, make her a new body, of course!"

"...What?"

"Think of it like this: When an organ fails you, you get an organ transplant. Apparently, in the past it was possible to grow new organs and body parts just for that purpose. But in Nia's case, what she needs is a _full body_ transplant. Do you follow?"

They gaped. "Is that...really possible?"

The Lord Genome Head answered. "With cloning technology, it is entirely possible. Compared to creating a Beastman, it is a simple matter."

Leeron nodded. "We've already isolated the Anti-Spiral gene in her DNA, so if we turn it off, we'll be able to clone Nia a new body without the risk of it becoming a Messenger again. Alternatively, we can try gene splicing..." He paused.

Half the room looked completely lost.

"But the computers will take care of that part, so you won't have to worry about it!"

They let out a great sigh of relief.

"The real problem is how we would transfer her mind and memories into the new body. I asked Nia to explain as much as she could about how the Anti-Spiral hive mind works, but I'm afraid it's at a level even beyond my comprehension..." Leeron sighed. "We just don't have the means to replicate the technology ourselves."

Nia spoke up. "However, if I were to acquire direct access to the Anti-Spiral hive mind’s network, I believe I would be able to operate it. Similar to how I transferred the other Messengers into my mind, I could conceivably download myself into the brain of my new body.”

"Wait,” Boota said, suddenly remembering the other Messengers, screaming and groaning as their bodies disintegrated. “But doesn't that mean..."

"Yes," Nia said. "Once I’ve taken this step, I cannot go back. In that moment, my current body will be separated from the hive mind, and it will die."

A silence filled the room.

Boota glanced at Simon, who was staring grimly at the table. No wonder he wasn’t happy about this plan.

"You're willing to go through with that...?" Yoko asked.

"I knew it was likely to happen eventually," Nia said tersely. "I am prepared for it."

"But what if the transfer doesn't work...?"

"Well,” Leeron said, “in that event, we'll just have to trust that Simon can use his Spiral Power to fix it somehow. I'm told that he already pulled Nia back from the brink before. I'm sure he'll have the proper motivation this time too."

Neither Simon nor Nia said anything. They both looked very tense.

"Still! If everything does go as planned, she'll just be reborn in the new body we'll have ready for her! Simple as that. Then all that’s left to do is destroy the hive mind at its source. Then the Anti-Spirals will lose control of their battleships, weapons systems..."

"Two birds with one stone," Simon said quietly. "The battle will be ours."

Yoko's mouth dropped open. "...It can't be that easy. There's gotta be another catch to this, right?"

"You guessed it!" Leeron said. "According to Nia, the source of the hive mind network can only be found on...the Anti-Spiral home planet!"

Their faces fell.

Simon summed it up. "In short, while you guys draw the Anti-Spirals’ attention, Nia and I will sneak onto their home planet to transfer her mind and destroy the system."

Yoko sat back, stunned. "A covert sneak attack, huh? Doesn't seem very like you."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd consider it an improvement."

"Oh, it is. I just...didn’t think you’d want to try something like this again.”

So she’d noticed too, Boota thought. This plan sounded all too familiar.

Gimmy gulped. "This sounds pretty risky..."

Kittan wrinkled his nose. "Sounds like a shit plan to me."

Leeron clicked his tongue. "Well, it's the best we could come up with under the circumstances. And we don't exactly have all the time in the world, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"For the past few weeks, Rossiu's had me working on deciphering some of the messages the Spiral races have been sending each other. And honestly, it doesn't look good. I have reason to believe they’re planning for an all-out attack, and Nia was able to confirm my suspicions."

Nia nodded. "After absorbing the other Messengers, I've become privy to new information that I'd previously been cut off from. It seems the Spiral races are mobilizing quickly. The Messengers had been attacking them, but with their absence, there's no doubt the Spiral races will now be doubling their efforts."

"In other words, we're racing against the clock. I don't think you'll have the luxury to come up with a better plan if you get involved in another war, will you?"

They all exchanged glances.

Yoko sighed. "...Okay, so how do we get there?"

Nia took over. "The Anti-Spiral home planet is hidden within a pocket universe of the Anti-Spirals' own making. This pocket universe, called Super Spiral Space, is itself hidden between the 10th and 11th dimensions. The only way to enter is through a dimensional rift known as the Great Dimensional Waterfall."

Gimmy blinked. "A waterfall in space?"

"To be precise, an interdimensional cosmic ether-fall."

Kittan shrugged. "Well, I guess we've seen weirder."

"Can you tell us more about this Super Spiral Space thing?" Yoko asked.

"It is a universe solely under the control of the Anti-Spirals. In other words, they have the power to manipulate it according to their every whim. In that space, they are essentially God. And they will have a trap lying in wait for us. I am sure of it."

"Per usual," Simon said flippantly.

Nia looked at him. "Please take this more seriously, Simon. Remember when I told you they are planning something against you? Whatever that is, I am sure they will unleash it once we enter their domain."

"But you don't know what it is, right? Then how am I supposed to prepare for it?"

She bit her lip. "Most likely, they will be targeting your weaknesses..."

Kittan threw his arms in the air. "Great! We're doomed."

Yoko shook her head. "We might as well just paint a giant target on the bridge..."

"Thanks for believing in me, guys," Simon grumbled. “Really appreciate it.”

"In any event, winning this battle will require strength of spirit," Lord Genome said. "Power alone cannot secure victory."

"Speaking from experience, hmm?" Leeron mused. "But good point. Spiral Power won't be of much help when you're sneaking onto their home planet."

"Indeed, the strength of Simon's Spiral Power signature will make his presence hard to go unnoticed," Nia said. "It won't take long for them to realize my presence either."

"Then how's that going to work?"

"Father has agreed to hack into the hive mind again during the battle, to distract them. That might be able to buy us some time."

"Okay, but will that be enough?" Yoko asked.

"Yeah, I think they'll notice when Simon suddenly goes missing from the battle," Kittan said.

“We have that covered too,” Simon said.

They looked at him.

"We'll have a decoy. Someone to take my place on the ship, to keep fighting when I'm not there."

Kittan scoffed. "All right, but who can take _your_ place?"

"In order to be convincing, the decoy would require a near equivalent amount of Spiral Power," Nia said. "Besides my father, the only one here who fits that criteria is..."

She turned to look at Boota.

Then suddenly, _everyone's_ eyes were on him.

"...Huh?" Boota croaked.

Simon nodded at him. "You might not be able to use your arm, but you can still use Spiral Power. We know you have a shitload of it, so let's see you put it to good use."

Boota's mouth dropped open. This was the last thing he'd expected when he came to this meeting. "W-wait," he said. "True, I may be the only one among us with comparable Spiral Power, but...would it still be enough to fool the Anti-Spirals?" He turned to Nia. “Honestly, would it?”

“It is doubtful,” she admitted regrettably.

Simon shrugged. "That doubt will work in our favor. They won't see it coming."

Boota felt lightheaded. "But they've already seen me take your place once. Surely it wouldn’t take them long to realize...?"

"We only need enough time to reach their planet. Once we're down there...well, it's not like they would bomb _themselves_ , right?"

"Even so, we’ll be putting all our lives in his hands," Yoko interjected. "And I’m not convinced he’s up for the job either. Can you at least train him first, teach him how to use his power?"

"Of course. Hell, I'll make him build up even more power while I'm at it."

Now Nia looked uneasy. "Simon, I don't know...that line of thinking can be dangerous. If you succeed in training him, and that information falls into the wrong hands..."

Simon sighed. "It's not like we'd be building him up from scratch. He already has the potential, he just hasn't used it yet. I mean, if _I_ never had a reason to use it...if I just lived a simple, boring life, my Spiral Power might never have awakened to this point either."

“I agree,” said Lord Genome. “He has more than enough potential to be a Spiral Knight. By achieving that form, he has already far surpassed the limits of his birth. All that he lacks now is resolve.”

That silenced their worries. Boota gulped. To be recognized by Lord Genome of all people...

“Well?” Simon said, looking at him. “What do you think?”

Boota took a deep breath. Simon never asked him for much. He wanted to say yes, desperately. “If it is something that you need me to do, I’d like to do it. But...I don’t know if I will be able to.”

There was a pause. Then Simon sat back, crossing his arms. “...Tell me something. How long do you plan to keep following me?”

“What?” Boota said, startled and a bit hurt by the question. Wasn’t the answer obvious...?

Simon went on. “You say you want to stay involved. But my path ahead isn’t going to be easy. From now on, I’m going to have more than just the Anti-Spirals coming after me. And the larger the target on my back becomes, the more likely that the people around me will get caught in it too. So if you want to keep tagging along, I need you to become stronger.” He looked Boota straight in the eyes. “When I train you, it won’t just be for this battle. It’ll be for what comes after.”

So in the end, this was still about his injury. But Boota found himself taken aback by Simon’s forward thinking. He’d expected guilt, regret, self-blame; the Simon that he knew was either always looking backwards, or consumed by the thought of battle. To think that he’d consider what came _after_ the battle...

“Don’t get me wrong; up to now, I thought you were fine just the way you are. Even when you were a pigmole, I didn’t care if you turned humanoid or not. To tell the truth...I hate this plan. If I could have it all my way, I’d rather you just sit this battle out.” Simon sighed. “...But you’ve already made it clear that you’d hate that. So, I leave it up to you: Do you want to stay the way you are? Or are you ready to take the next step?”

So his plea had made a difference after all. But as Boota thought it over, he was further taken aback. Wait a minute...if he agreed to this plan...wouldn’t he be playing the same part Kamina did all those years ago? For Simon to suggest such a thing on his own, and with a straight face at that...up to now, it would have been unthinkable. And yet he still offered him this chance...the chance to prove himself.

And then suddenly, it all became clear. He had been so busy pitying himself that he completely failed to see the answer he had been looking for all along. All this time, Boota thought he'd been standing at Simon's side. But in reality, he'd been standing _behind_ him...the way Simon used to hang behind Kamina.

Lord Genome was right. He _did_ lack resolve. Despite having vast stores of Spiral Power, he’d never thought he could be as powerful as Simon-- and after seeing Simon’s struggles up close, he’d never thought of _wanting_ to. He’d only tried to support him the best he could as his aide. But couldn’t he have done more? Despite all his struggles with being useful, was he actually holding _back?_

What if...what if his transformation into humanoid form was only the _beginning_ of his evolution? Rather than trying to keep Simon afloat, perhaps his true role was to sink down with him...to keep him company in the darkness.

Perhaps that's what he ought to have done from the start. It was so obvious now. If he wanted to take some pressure off of Simon, he should be fighting alongside him. He should be _sharing_ the fate of the Spiral Knight rather than letting Simon shoulder the burden on his own. Only then could they truly stand side-by-side.

Boota clenched his fists with a sense of renewed purpose. He had to get stronger. He _would_. "I'll do it. You can count on me."

Simon’s expression was hard to read. In a way, he looked both relieved and disappointed. But at last, he said, "Good.”

He stood up. “Then it's settled. I'll supervise Boota's training. Lord Genome will handle the cloning process, with Nia's help. Leeron, could you keep tabs on the situation with the Spiral races?"

"Can do, hun~"

He turned to Yoko, Kittan, and Gimmy. "And the rest of you can prepare the ship and crew for the fight of their lives."

But the three of them just sat there, looking mildly annoyed at being upstaged.

Simon rolled his eye. "Does that sound acceptable to you, leaders?"

"Sure. Sounds like a plan," Yoko huffed.

With the meeting over, everyone got up and left the room. Boota, however, remained in his seat, still feeling rather overwhelmed by this turn of events. Until he looked up to see Simon looming over him, cracking his knuckles.

"All right," he said menacingly. "Let's turn you into a monster."

 

* * *

  

They got started the next day, Simon heading for the main bridge, while Boota went to the main engine room, where he found Gurren-Lagann already waiting for him. Simon’s Core Drill in hand, Boota took a seat in Lagann’s cockpit.

Simon’s voice called from the bridge. “All right, this is your first test. Once you clear this, then we can move on to doing something else. Ready?”

Powering the Super Spiral Engine to transform the ship into Super Galaxy Gurren-Lagann. Having seen Simon do this several times, and even assisting him once, Boota pretty much knew what to expect. But this time, he would be doing it all on his own.

Boota licked his lips. “Yes.”

“Good. Gurren-Lagann, Spin On!”

Boota inserted the Core Drill in its slot and gave it a twist. Immediately, the monitor lit up with a spiral of green light. The cockpit hummed with energy.

So far, so good. Boota gripped the controls. His shoulder responded with a throb of pain, but he ignored it.

“We’ve begun accumulating energy,” Cibela announced. “Progress currently at 0.15%.”

“Just concentrate on keeping a steady output,” Simon said. “Clear everything else from your mind and focus.”

“All right.” Concentrate. Boota closed his eyes, and for a long while, all he heard was the engine’s constant hum, the sound of his own heartbeat, and Cibela’s voice updating him on his progress.

Then finally: “98.25%...98.5%... Attention, all crew: transformation is imminent.”

The interior of the cockpit lit up with light.

“Threshold achieved!”

He could feel the ship changing, reorganizing its parts, almost as if it were an extension of his own body. With it came an exhilarating rush of power, like he had suddenly broken free from all restraints. This felt strangely familiar. Then he realized why. It was just like when he himself had evolved into humanoid form.

“Transformation complete!”

At last, Boota released the controls and sat back, gasping.

"How are you feeling?" Simon asked.

"Exhausted. Powerful." And proud, too. Boota grinned. That wasn't as hard as he’d expected. His muscles ached and he was out of breath, but he still felt like he could keep going. For the first time, he knew what he was truly capable of.

"And your shoulder?"

"Good." It still throbbed with pain, but somehow, it felt better than before. In fact, with all the Spiral Power coursing throughout his body, he wouldn't be surprised if his injury healed itself soon. Boota wiped the sweat from his brow. "So how did I do?"

"It took you almost an hour. Pathetic. Do it over."

The grin fell from Boota’s face. "Oh." He wasn't quite expecting praise, but he'd expected more than that.

Nonetheless, he put his hands back on the controls and started again.

Hours later...

"Fourth transformation complete.”

"How are you feeling?"

Boota lay back in the cockpit, drenched in sweat and out of breath, wanting nothing more than to eat and sleep for days. "Like...I'm going to pass out..."

"Good. You're down to half an hour. Do it again."

"What...exactly are we...aiming for?"

"Once you get down to ten minutes or less, then we can move on to something else."

Boota groaned loudly.

"Ninth transformation now complete."

"How are you feeling?"

Boota didn't answer. He lay face down on the monitor, struggling to breathe. Now, not only was his shoulder aching, but every cell in his body screamed with pain.

Simon clicked his tongue. "The hell, you've gone back to forty minutes! We're not going anywhere at this rate."

"I haven't...had a break...in hours..."

"That's no excuse. Do it again."

But to Boota’s great relief, other voices soon cut in.

“How long are you planning to keep this up?!” Yoko shrieked. “We’ve been having complaints all day!”

“It’s very hard to get anything done with you constantly transforming the ship back and forth, you know,” Leite said.

“Simon, perhaps there is another way to train him?” Nia suggested. “This method poses great risk of catching the Anti-Spirals’ attention...”

“Fine, fine,” Simon finally relented. “We’ll do something else tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, that something else was making Boota run the entire length of the ship, top to bottom, without rest.

On Deck 165, Boota finally collapsed. The hallway was quiet and empty, so he lay down, trying desperately to catch his breath.

“The hell are you doing?!”

Boota’s heart jumped. Simon loomed over him again, having appeared seemingly from nowhere. “Did I say you could stop?”

“This ship...is the size of the moon,” Boota gasped. “It’s not...possible...to do this in one day...”

“You seriously think you can fight against the universe with such paltry resolve?” Simon’s eye narrowed in a glare usually reserved only for his worst enemies. “Don’t make me laugh. You won’t last a minute.”

Boota shuddered. Being on the receiving end of that glare was more terrifying than he’d ever imagined. “Please...just one...minute...”

“You’re the one who agreed to this, remember? If you want to rest, then go rest in a hospital bed-- and _stay_ there.”

“No...”

“It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“I _won’t_...” Mustering all of his remaining energy, Boota struggled back to his feet.

He couldn’t resent Simon for this, he told himself. It was cruelty born out of concern. Every time he slowed down, Simon must be picturing his death. Yes. That must be it.

Probably.

But he wasn’t the only one taken aback by Simon’s complete change in attitude. That night, when Nia came to join them at dinner, she discovered Boota lying face down on the table, plates of food surrounding him, but too exhausted to eat.

This gave her pause. “Simon...he’s still injured, isn’t he? You don’t suppose you’re pushing him too hard...?”

Simon shrugged. “I’m not putting him out there unless I’m sure he’s ready. And he still has a long way to go. Right?”

Nia nodded reluctantly.

Boota’s stomach let out a deafening roar. Simon nudged a plate against his face. “Come on. You need to replenish your energy.”

Boota managed to raise his head high enough to plunge face first into the plate of food, which he then proceeded to tear through like any proper pigmole would.

It was only once he’d finished and let out a large belch that he noticed Yoko staring at him from across the table, making a face.

"So...how’s it going?" she asked, sitting down with her tray.

Simon pushed another plate under Boota’s nose. “Slow. But it's only his second day."

“Uh-huh. Tell me, do you even have this training regime planned out, or are you just making it up as you go along?”

“Mostly making it up.”

Yoko poked at her food. “Why am I not surprised?”

“But he seems to be working very hard,” Nia said. “Perhaps too hard,” she added with a worried glance as Boota struggled to eat.

“Well, I never said this would be a walk in the park,” Simon said flippantly. “At least I’m not chucking rocks at him.”

This got a chuckle out of Yoko, though she tried to hide it behind her hand. “Is all this really effective, though? I mean...surely there’s _some_ research on how to train him properly? Did you even bother looking through the ship’s records?”

“Lord Genome said to go with my gut. That’s all the research I need.”

Yoko turned to Nia. “How about you? Do you know anything that might help?”

Nia blinked. “Me?”

“You know, have the Anti-Spirals ever done any research on how to raise Spiral Power?”

“That...” She lowered her gaze to the table. “That is exactly the opposite of what they are trying to do, so...”

“Come to think of it,” Boota finally said between bites, “the Kumpus were putting all of their time and resources into that kind of research, and they still hadn’t found an answer, had they?”

Simon made a face as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. “They were trying too hard, that’s what their problem was. It needs to come naturally. It needs to be instinctive...”

Yoko blinked, clearly having no idea what they were talking about. “Okay...well, what about a special diet then?” she offered. “If he eats food that provides lots of energy...”

“Are there such foods?” Nia asked, curiously.

Simon thought for a moment. "Pigmole steak."

Boota choked on his food. He went on coughing for several minutes, Nia patting his back as he did.

Yoko sighed. “You’re evil, you know that?”

 

* * *

  

After that, Yoko began checking in on Simon and Taboo as they did their training, at least once in a while. They kept mostly out of the way now, using a spare room as their training area.

Once, she walked in to find them standing waist-deep in a pile of Core Drills. As she watched, Taboo held out his palm, closed his eyes, and materialized a Core Drill out of thin air. Then he added it to the pile.

She stared. “You made all these out of Spiral Power?”

Simon shrugged. “What else?”

As they spoke, a few Core Drills in the corner of the room vanished in a flash of green light.

“ _Concentrate!_ ” Simon snapped.

Taboo mumbled an apology and quickly remade them.

The next day, she was passing by the room when she heard Simon counting.

“Five hundred eighty four...five hundred eighty five...”

Inside, Taboo was doing one-arm pushups, while Simon sat on top of his back, looking bored.

“Five hundred eighty six...”

Taboo grunted, expression strained.

Yoko watched a minute longer before asking. “Does he _have_ to use only one arm...?”

“His shoulder’s injured, remember?” Simon replied matter-of-factly.

Yoko walked out, shaking her head. “Evil.”

Then another day, she was walking by when she saw Nia standing outside the room, silently peering in at them. This struck her as odd. If Nia wanted to watch, surely she could just go inside? Why was she hiding out here like some stalker?

“Something wrong, Nia?”

Nia turned in surprise. “Oh...Yoko. No...it’s nothing. I just...”

“Want to talk about it?”

Nia gave a noncommittal shrug, which Yoko could swear she must have picked up from Simon. “I was only thinking...in preparing for this battle, Simon is helping Boota to be as strong as he could be. But with me...all he ever says is that he will protect and save me.”

She began playing with a strand of her hair. “Of course, I can understand why. This plan _is_ very risky. And when I am in my new body, I won’t have the powers of a Messenger anymore. But still...” She sighed. “I suppose this is just another way one treats different people differently?”

Yoko couldn’t help but laugh at this. When Nia looked at her in surprise again, she said, “Sorry. But it’s so ironic. You know...for a while, I actually envied the way he’s so protective of you.”

“You did?”

Yoko nodded. “But I guess if he were like that with me all the time, I’d get pretty annoyed too.”

“Oh, I am not annoyed! It’s just...” Nia lapsed into silence, trying to think of how to express how she felt.

“Frustrating?”

“Yes...” she said, though she still looked unsure. “I suppose that might be it...”


	19. Promises (Part 2)

A young girl panted as she dashed through a fog-shrouded forest. She wove in and out among the dense trees, now and then stumbling over roots and glancing backward to see if she'd lost her pursuer.

But he doggedly followed right behind her. "Give it back, Sis! I found it! It's mine!" he cried, voice echoing shrilly. Her little brother.

In her hand, the girl held a small drill-shaped key. "You know what this is!" she yelled back at him. "You know what we have to do with it!"

A thundering roar grew as the trees began to thin, and suddenly they were out of the forest, running alongside a river raging toward a cliff's edge.

The girl ran over to the ledge overlooking a great waterfall. She raised her hand, preparing to throw the drill into its depths.

"No, Sis! NO!"

The boy pounced, grabbing her around the waist. She gasped, windmilling her arms. For a moment, they teetered on the edge, before finally toppling backwards onto the ground.

Gasping, they lay sprawled on the ledge amidst the cool mist rising from the crashing waters below.

The girl sat up. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" she screeched.

"But it's mine!" the boy whined.

"We have to get rid of it!"

"But I found it! It belongs to me!"

"This isn't a toy! It's dangerous!" Trembling, she looked at the drill in her hand. It seemed harmless, but in the wrong hands, it could be a weapon. A harbinger of doom.

"I don't care!" he said defiantly.

"You idiot!" She grabbed his shoulders. "Then what are you going to do if _they_ come back for us, huh?!"

"I'll...I'll fight them! I'll fight and protect everyone!"

_"What?"_ Nonsense. What could he possibly do? This young boy, who still wet his bed, who still cried at a scraped knee, who still needed _her_ to protect _him_...

Seeing her hesitate, the boy saw his chance. "Please, Sis! I promise I'll be good! I promise I'll keep it safe! So don't tell anyone about it. Please?"

But the girl shook her head. She should have seen this coming.

_Nia..._

She saw the way his eyes lit up whenever the elders told the old stories. They were meant to be cautionary tales, but her brother took them as adventure stories. 'It could happen to you,' they'd warned, and he fancied himself a hero.

_Wait..._

Those stories always scared her, but she had found relief in the fact that they were only a thing of the past. Fairytales from another age. But not anymore.

_Nia...don't go..._

His was the foolish arrogance of a child. It would bring disaster upon them all. And she was afraid, so afraid...most of all for him. Her baby brother, the only family she had left. No matter what, she had to keep him safe. Even if that meant from himself.

NIA!

 

* * *

  

Nia opened her eyes. She stared blankly up at the dark ceiling, taking a minute to recall who and where she was. Then she realized that the voice from her dream was still calling, this time from right beside her in bed.

"...go...don't go...don't go..."

"Simon?"

Drowsily, Nia sat up. Simon was still asleep, and drenched in sweat.

"Don't go..." he murmured. "Please..."

"Simon, wake up. You're dreaming." She patted his cheek. But it made no difference.

"Nia..." He grit his teeth, face in agony.

She had seen him have nightmares before, but this seemed like a particularly awful one. It had to be, to make him _beg._

Sighing, Nia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and shook his shoulder. "Simon, I'm right here..."

The Core Drill around his neck lit up with a blinding glow. Nia jumped. In its light, she now saw Simon's expression change to that of dour determination. _"I won't let you go...!"_

The Core Drill began to pulse.

Now fully awake, Nia stared in disbelief. He was actually starting to lose control. Whatever he was doing in his dream, his emotions were powerful enough that, at this rate...they could very well affect reality.

An image flashed in her mind- heavens shaking, space shattering- and she panicked.

"Simon?!" She shook him harder. "Wake up! _Simon!_ "

The pulse grew faster and more erratic. He still wasn't waking up.

"Simon!" She grabbed his hand, gripped it tight. "It's okay! I'm here! I'm right here!"

But it didn't stop. Nia didn't know what to do. He was in a deep sleep, and his Spiral Power grew more unstable by the second...if he didn't wake up soon...

"Please!" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Please stop! SIMON!"

And then, by some miracle, it worked. He let out a long sigh. He must have heard her this time.

Gradually, his breathing eased. The pulse slowed. Soon, the light in the Core Drill faded, and the room returned once more to darkness and silence.

But Nia could not stop shaking.

 

* * *

 

After that, Nia no longer slept.

She had known Simon was prone to frequent nightmares, but not like this. Now it was all night, every night, without fail. Nia noticed now. She watched.

Up to now, she'd thought he'd been taking everything surprisingly well. After all, that afternoon before the meeting, when they'd put the final touches on the plan, it had been Simon who first suggested Boota's role as a decoy.

"It's not like I want to put him in danger," he had sighed. "But if this is the path he chooses, then I can't stop him. ...I'll just have to put up with it."

And sure enough, he was putting up with it. Every day, Simon went to train Boota, acting like nothing was wrong. But inwardly, it was taking a toll. Now she understood. His fears didn't just go away; he bottled them up, internalized them, and then they surfaced in his dreams. The one place he couldn't hide.

And so she stayed awake. "I'm sorry," she whispered to him in the darkness. "I know you wouldn't like this...but how could I go on having pleasant dreams, while you are suffering?" Once again, she had been so caught up in her own matters, that she'd nearly missed noticing his true feelings.

_But that isn't the only reason, is it?_

Much like she had, the Messengers were learning to think for themselves now. They spoke to her often, keeping her company during her nightly vigils. But with such a variety of personalities, that inevitably led to a whole range of differing opinions clashing inside her head.

_It's not fair! I wanted you to see my homeland next!_

"I'm sorry," she said. "But a dream is a small price to pay..."

_Yes. If anything, she has been too careless up to now._

_What if it happens again? What if he does it again?_

"That wasn't his fault," Nia quickly said. "It was a dream. You can't help what happens in dreams. You can't help how you feel..."

_But that lack of control is what frightens us the most..._

_We must not forget. He is no ordinary human._

"I didn't forget. I just..."

_Avoiding the problem will not help. You knew there were risks._

_And next time, it may not just be a dream..._

Nia gulped. Deep down, she knew they were right. She had had this worry before. Perhaps it had always been there, like cracks in a wall, nestled in the back of her mind until just recently.

Until...yes, the day they'd agreed on this plan.

She recalled that hard look in Simon's eye when he said he would be coming with her. Spoken as if giving an ultimatum. His words ought to have made her happy, but instead...they only filled her with unease.

And now, with this incident, the cracks were splitting. The facade was coming down, and she could ignore it no longer.

Now, she found herself wondering whether this plan was a good idea after all.

When she'd agreed to it, she had failed to consider several things. Of course, she knew Simon wouldn't like it...no matter what happened, she would definitely be dying at least once. But she'd believed that he would come to understand its necessity. And sure enough, he came around to it.

However, she didn't think beyond that. She didn't consider the stress that this would put on him. She didn't consider that his subconscious desires may be at war with his conscious decisions. And most importantly...she hadn't considered his own history.

 

* * *

  

After the plan had been publicly announced, crew members came up to her frequently during the day, asking questions.

"So, I hear the former captain's gonna be the key in all this, huh?"

"But he's not even gonna be fighting at the front lines? Isn't that all he's good for?"

"He's so unpredictable. How are we supposed to rely on someone like that?"

As usual, Nia tried her best to ease their doubts. Empty words. Empty promises. How could she possibly tell them that she was beginning to have doubts of her own...?

In the end, they clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't let him flake out on us, okay? We're counting on you!"

After they left, Nia stood in silence. What would they do, if they knew what Simon was capable of, even in his sleep? Would they try to kill him again? These people were her friends now, but she could not allow that.

_Then what will you do?_

"I will take care of it," Nia said. "It's my responsibility to stop him. No one else needs to know."

But that was easier said than done. By now, Nia had realized something. When she'd made her promise to Simon, she had been in the same boat that he was. She had not thought of _how_ she would do it.

Up to now, she had been lucky. When he was on the brink of losing control, or was heading down the wrong path, she had been able to stop him, either by talking him out of it or distracting him. But what if, this time, those methods didn't work? And yet, she could think of nothing else...

Sighing, Nia went to the main computer room. This room, which had once been full of lights like glittering stars, was now dark but for two lit tanks. One holding her father's head, and the other, her new body.

Nia looked up at the tank. She didn't know what to do. She only knew that this sense of disquiet grew. Grew as her new body grew, as if it were a physical embodiment of her doubts.

 

* * *

 

Another evening arrived. As they turned in, Simon sat on the edge of bed, pulling off his boots as he always did. Nia watched his back, lost in thought. Then, all of a sudden, Simon heaved a heavy sigh.

Nia stared. If he'd ever felt any dread before going to sleep, this was the first time he'd shown it. Before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him from behind.

"...What's this all of a sudden?" he asked, a smile in his voice.

Why did he have to hide his fears? Was it an attempt to control himself, to keep his emotions in check? If so, that was admittedly an improvement. But it was also dangerous. He could not hold it in forever. Sooner or later, he would explode.

"Nia?" He turned around to look at her. "You okay?"

If she wanted to know something, she should just ask. That's right. There was nothing to be afraid of...

Nia took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "Simon...what would you do if I died?"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. But despite such a heavy question, it did not take him long to answer. "Easy. I wouldn't let you die."

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach. Nia gulped. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Doesn't it? I said that I'll save you, so I'll save you. Isn't that enough?" He smirked. "Or have you finally started doubting me?"

"I don't doubt that you can save me. I don't doubt that you will."

"Then what's the problem?" He lifted her chin, looking her in the eyes. "There's no need to think about it. No need to even _consider_ it. I won't let it happen, so don't you worry."

Nia sighed. "But aren't _you_ the one thinking about it the most?"

The smirk fell from his face. In that moment, he knew that she knew.

"...It's nothing."

"It certainly doesn't seem like nothing."

He turned away, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"I kinda hoped you wouldn't," he muttered.

"Why?"

"Because it's not something that can be helped, is it?" he said exasperatedly. "If there's a cure for dreams, I'd love to hear about it."

Seeing her frown, he went on. "It's not like I haven't tried doing something about it. I took sleeping pills a few times. But it didn't make the dreams go away. It only made them harder to wake up from."

A chill went down Nia's spine. Come to think of it, she'd seen Simon drinking something before bed one night. She hadn't thought much of it at the time...but that certainly might explain it.

"Are you...still taking them now?"

"No, I stopped. I'd rather not be stuck in those dreams for any longer than necessary."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes...I think that is a good idea."

Biting her lip, Nia thought for a moment. True, perhaps there wasn't a way to deal with the nightmares themselves. But they could at least manage his stress. "Have you tried crying?"

_"What?"_

"I think it might do some good to express your feelings in a safe manner. I know when I have finished crying, I feel a little refreshed."

But he was already shaking his head. "Not gonna happen."

"Why? You haven't even tried..."

But then Nia realized- had she _ever_ seen him cry? No. Somehow, through all the pain and hardship they'd been through together, he'd never shed a single tear. Even she, the Anti-Spiral Messenger, had cried several times now.

"I don't understand. You are human. You have emotions. It is a perfectly natural response. Why do you never cry? Do your tear glands not function correctly?"

Simon facepalmed. "Nia, it's not like I've never cried my entire _life_. Hell, when I was a kid, I was a real crybaby. I cried a lot when Bro died too..." He sighed. "But at a certain point, I decided to just stop. I knew I couldn't be a man like Bro if I kept crying all the time."

"Did your Bro never cry?"

He breathed in sharply. "...No. He cried sometimes..."

"Then I'm afraid I still don't understand."

Simon said nothing. It appeared her question had shaken him somewhat.

Nia gave him a questioning look. "If you simply decided to stop, couldn't you decide to start again?"

"...It's hard. I'm out of the habit now."

"So was I, until just recently."

"Well, then how long did you go without? When was the last time you cried before you became the Messenger?"

"I don't remember. But when I was human, I did not hesitate to cry when I needed to."

"So about three years?" He shook his head. "For me, it's been ten."

Nia's eyes widened. Ten years. No wonder he was so destructive. "...It's still not impossible."

"Yeah, probably. But still, I don't really want to."

"Why? Is it because you are embarrassed? Simon, I've already seen you at your weakest."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"I will not judge you for it."

"Yeah, I know."

"So then why?"

He didn't answer.

"Why?" She prodded his arm.

He took a deep breath. "Because once I start, I don't know if I can stop."

Whatever retort she had planned died on her lips. She wasn't prepared for such a blunt, honest admission.

"Look, maybe after this is all over, I'll give it a try. But for now, I need to be strong. I have to keep it together. You know what the stakes are, Nia. I can't let what happened with Bro happen again."

So she was right. His intentions were good. But that didn't make this any less risky.

Nia hesitated, considering just telling him what had almost happened the other night. But something held her back.

"I just need to get through this, then I'll be fine. So don't worry about me. Okay?"

Nia nodded, then shook her head. "But...but I can't just do _nothing_..."

"It's okay, really." He pulled her into an embrace. "Right now, this is all I need."

In his arms, Nia's senses were filled with the warmth of his skin, the sound of his breath, the gentle pulse of his heartbeat. She ought to be used to this by now. But she still found it incredibly distracting. "Really?"

"Yeah."

But perhaps he was just as affected by their close proximity, because this quickly backfired. His grip tightened around her waist, his face taking refuge in the crook of her neck. Suddenly, he was clutching her as if his life depended on it.

"Simon..."

She was reminded of the first time he'd embraced her like this. Back then, she had found the expression so rare, the memory so precious, she'd desired to keep it all to herself. How ironic, then, that that was no longer possible, and by her own choice...

Nia sighed. Lying her head on Simon's shoulder, she gently rubbed his back. Yes...whenever he had truly opened his heart to her, she'd seen that it was a raw, bloody wound; painful even to look at. At times like this, when he gave himself to her, damaged and vulnerable, she could not turn him away. She could not betray his trust.

They clung to each other like this for a long time. Then finally, Simon pulled back to look at her.

"Do me a favor," he said quietly. "Don't go anywhere tonight."

"Where would I go?" she whispered.

In lieu of an answer, he caught her lips in a kiss. More swiftly followed, increasing in urgency. Nia wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing back fervently, though not without some guilt. There was still much they needed to discuss. But with every kiss he laid on her neck, her shoulder, her body, she could practically hear the words, _Don't go._ Faced with this, what could she possibly say in return? What could she possibly _do_ but hang on, as her hands turned from soothing him to leaving fingernail marks on his skin.

She would not cause him any more worry or pain, she decided. At least not tonight.

After that, the only sound that escaped her lips were gasps and moaning of his name.

And yet...once their breaths had calmed, their skin cooled, and the heat of the moment had passed, Simon again succumbed to nightmares. Nia lay with her head on his shoulder, feeling helpless as she watched his face contort in anguish.

Deep down, she had known. She could not do the healing for him. She could only bandage the wound.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Nia again stood enveloped in the light of the two tanks. Every day, her new body continued to take shape. She could recognize features in that face now. Her own features, staring back at her.

Now what? This was the question she was now left with.

In the end, they still hadn't made much progress. In fact, Simon's response had been less than encouraging. Then again, what was she expecting? She knew it was not an easy question to answer...

_You are coddling him, that's the problem. You can't get any results by simply skirting the subject._

They were right. She should have been more straight with him. If she'd just told him what had happened, perhaps he would understand... Why? Why didn't she tell him?

No, she knew why.

When it came to anything else, she could tell him straight how she felt. She had grown comfortable speaking her mind, and confident that he would at least listen.

But not when it came to this. In the past, whenever she had warned him about his Spiral Power, he'd always ignored her. Even when she spoke only for herself, and not as a Messenger, he never seemed to take her seriously. And surely he was self-aware enough to realize the dangers himself?

When they first met, he said he didn't care. Was that still the case? He was different now; instead of mere senseless rampaging, his efforts were focused on a single, attainable goal. But perhaps that meant he was only more prepared to dirty his hands in pursuit of that goal...

The Simon who'd threatened to destroy the universe for her, and the Simon who rejected the fate of the Great Destroyer...the problem was, she loved and believed in them both. So when it came down to it, to which side would he fall?

Nia shivered. She had to know for sure. But at the same time...she didn't want to.

...Perhaps it would be best just to cancel the whole thing.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she grabbed hold of it as if it were a lifeline.

Yes, that seemed to be the safest option. People would no doubt be angry with her, but that couldn't be helped. And Simon had wanted to look for another solution. It might not be too late yet.

Unrealistic though it might be, just the thought filled her with some relief. Perhaps Simon would be relieved too.

She had to tell him at once. Gathering her nerves, she teleported to Simon and Boota's training room...just in time to witness Simon slam his fist against the wall.

WHAM.

Nia jumped.

"For god's sake!" Simon snarled. "How many times have we been over this?! If you can't even get this right, then I don't see the point in even trying!"

"I'm sorry, I'll try aga-"

"Are you even taking this seriously?!"

Nia blinked. At first, she didn't understand what was going on. She'd seen Simon be harsh during their training, but this was different. He seemed agitated, on edge. Something had changed. Boota noticed it too; he looked just as taken aback as she was.

"Of course I am. Simon, you know I-"

"If you want to risk your life, then get fucking serious!" He punched the wall again, leaving a noticeable dent. "I'm sick of everyone acting like it's no big deal! It's your fucking _life!_ Take some damn responsibility!"

Boota tried to speak again, but once more he was cut off.

"Or what?! Would you rather go back to the medical bay? Or maybe you'd prefer to hang out with the pigmoles?!"

"S-Simon..."

Nia clenched her fists. Whatever the training must entail, surely this was unnecessary. Moreover, it was troubling. Simon had managed to keep it together so far, but now his strained composure was breaking.

"Simon!" she cut in.

He froze at her voice.

"That's enough. I think you need a break."

"...This is nothing," he scowled. "He can handle it."

"No. I mean _you_ need a break."

"...What?"

Without another word, Nia marched into the room, firmly grasped his hand, and led him out. As they left, she saw Boota sigh in relief.

Simon, too bewildered to resist at first, began to protest once they were out in the hall. "H-hold on!"

She ignored him and kept going. She knew her way around rather well now. The two of them got some stares from passersby, but Nia ignored them too. Finally, when they reached the nearest elevator, Nia dragged Simon in with her, put her hand on the panel, and selected the farthest level away from where they were now. Hopefully it would be a while before they were disturbed.

The elevator doors closed.

"That was hardly necessary!" Simon growled, finally wrenching his hand away. "I'm not a damn kid."

Nia turned to him. "I had to stop you before you might say something you'd regret."

"No one asked you to do that!"

"Boota is your friend. He didn't deserve that."

"How do you know? Were you there the whole time?"

Nia let out a frustrated sigh. "I just wish you wouldn't take out your feelings on people like that..."

"I wasn't-" he began reflexively, but caught himself. "I..." He bared his teeth, visibly trying to reign in his anger.

She looked at him sadly. "You can't keep doing this, Simon. If you keep suppressing your feelings, it will not be good for you, or for anyone else."

But this just caused him to explode again. "Would you just shut up about that?!"

And suddenly, he was lashing out like a wounded animal.

"I would've been fine if you hadn't said anything! But you just have to keep pushing and pushing...I already told you my reasons, so lay the fuck off!"

She took a step back. "Simon..."

"You want to know why I didn't tell you about my nightmares? Because I knew you'd react this way! You'd drop everything to try and help, when I didn't even ask for it! Just stop! Stop prying! Hell, why don't you try worrying about yourself for goddamn once!"

"But...but I..."

"Just...leave me the hell alone!"

Nia flinched. Then, backing away, she retreated to the other side of the elevator.

She didn't understand. Last night, he'd clung to her as if she might disappear at any moment. But today, he pushed her away...

Her confusion was mirrored in his face as he realized what he'd just said. Simon reached his hand out to her. "Wait, I..." But then he let it drop. "I didn't mean..."

Nia nodded, swallowing the urge to cry. She would try not to take it personally. For now, she would just give him some space.

Simon turned away. "Shit. _SHIT_." He began muttering a long string of curses under his breath. His whole body shook, and for a moment she almost thought he might cry...but no, he was just forcing it all down again.

A few minutes passed like this.

At last, Nia spoke up again. "Um, Simon..."

His shaking had stopped now, but he still seemed tense, on edge.

Hesitantly, she approached, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you..."

Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She only had time to gasp in surprise before his lips were on hers and he was kissing her fiercely, mindless and desperate.

"M...mm?!" At first she was just stunned and confused. It all happened so fast; before she knew it, his tongue was in her mouth and he had pinned her to the wall. What was he thinking? Was he still angry with her? Was this an apology? No, that wasn't it. His actions were feverish and hasty...he wasn't thinking at all. He just needed some kind of release.

Having understood that, Nia obliged, running her hand over his chest and then lower, to undo his belt. If there was something she could give that would help him, she would give him all of it.

Ten minutes later, the doors opened on the lowest level of the ship. Fortunately, the hall outside was deserted, so there was no one there to witness the two of them entwined against the wall.

The doors slid closed again.

Simon panted in her ear afterwards. "Sorry." He'd returned to his senses, and seemed to be avoiding looking her in the eye.

"I am too..." Nia said faintly, letting him hold her upright as the strength in her legs gave out. "I...only wanted to help."

"I know."

A tense silence stretched between them. Then at last, she asked, "May I ask what brought this on? Was it really my fault, or..."

"No." He sighed. "It's...it's Leeron."

"Huh?"

"It's been two weeks since we last heard from him."

"What..."

Then she remembered. The day after they'd been introduced, Simon had explained it to her. That the president of the human colony had ordered for there to be no more contact between the colony and the ship. And that Leeron risked being tried for treason by disobeying that order.

Two weeks. She'd thought it had been a while...

Simon grit his teeth. "I shouldn't have asked him to keep tabs for us. He'd already done enough."

"But...this doesn't necessarily mean anything has happened, right? We might still hear from him again..."

"For his sake, I hope we don't."

So he had been worrying about this on top of everything else... "Simon, even if he is in trouble, it's not your fault. He did this of his own accord. You don't have to blame yourself."

But Simon just scoffed. "Why shouldn't I? I'm the reason that order was given in the first place."

She couldn't exactly argue with that, so Nia just hugged him tightly. "I'm sure...I'm sure he'll be okay..." She dearly wished that were true.

Leeron had risked so much by helping them put this plan together. How could she forget that? He had been so kind, so selfless...

What had she been thinking? It was naive- foolish- to think that they could turn back now. It was too late. This plan was all they had.

"We're running out of time," Simon murmured in her ear, as if echoing her thoughts.

Nia nodded. Forming another plan, or gradually easing his wounds...both could be effective, but they had time for neither. But then...what options did they have? She didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to consider...

"I wish time would just stop right here," Simon said softly. "I wish we could just stay like this..."

For a long time, neither of them moved, reluctant to end the moment. But finally, Nia wriggled out of his grasp, went to the elevator panel and selected their original floor. The elevator began its ascent.

Nia fingered a lock of her hair. "Boota is waiting, so..."

Simon looked away. "Yeah..."

The elevator ride back seemed to take forever this time. They both were at a loss for what to say. All the while, a chorus of whispers swarmed in Nia's head like buzzing insects. She tried to shake them away, but Simon noticed, furrowing his eyebrows, so she stopped. She couldn't think with him here. She had enough distractions already.

The elevator reached their destination. The doors opened, but Nia didn't move, waiting for Simon to leave. He seemed to get the message.

"Well...I guess I'll go back then..."

"Remember to apologize to Boota properly..."

"Yeah, I know."

Before going, he paused to cup her cheek in his hand, but instead of kissing her or saying anything, he just looked at her, sadly and a little longingly. Then he walked out.

Once the doors closed, she let out a long sigh.

Nia leaned against the wall, her face in her hands. She could not keep running from this. She had to face it head on.

Yes, it wasn't the plan that needed fixing. After all, even if there were no immediate risk, wouldn't this issue simply arise again someday? They had to address the heart of the matter.

Nia rubbed her temples. Think. Think. This could still be resolved with words. The issue was his unpredictability. If they could only take that out of the equation...

She had no right to ask for anything on Boota's behalf. But as for her own life...her part in the plan carried the most risk. And after all, didn't he wish for her to make her own decisions? If she could only convince him, perhaps everything would turn out alright. Yes, as long as he committed to it, she could have faith that he would keep his word.

But he had already agreed to this plan, despite being so against it. He'd made compromises, both for her and for Boota, and he was suffering for it. How could she possibly ask for more? What would such a request even do to him? How would he react? She couldn't imagine it going well...

Then one of the Messengers suddenly spoke up. _Wait a minute. What exactly are you contemplating?_

"Huh?" Nia looked up.

_I don't understand the problem. He said he would save you, no matter what. Isn't that what we wanted? Isn't that what you promised us?_

_Don't play dumb. You know there is more at stake now._

_Oh, just leave it alone._

_Are you saying she should do nothing?_

_As long as we survive...isn't that all that matters?_

_How could you say that after all we've seen?!_

_Then what do you suggest? Do you want to risk seeing your loved ones again?!_

_Our loved ones may not even live long enough for us to meet them, at this rate!_

"Everyone, please, calm down," Nia said, but her own voice shook.

That's right. When did her survival become something less than certain in her own mind? She had promised them she would live. Yet when she'd asked Simon about it, that certainty was not what she was seeking. When did she begin prioritizing one promise over another?

Her body felt numb. Nia slid to the floor. There was nothing she could say to them that would not be an excuse.

The Messengers became locked in a fierce debate. Increasingly, the barrage of thoughts outpaced her, until she was barely able to keep up. Nia put her hands over her ears, but that did nothing to dull the roar in her own head.

_What were you expecting? What else are we supposed to do?_

_That's right! Go back to working for the Anti-Spirals if that's how you feel!_

_But the Anti-Spirals are right in some ways. We, of all people, ought to recognize that._

_As the last Messenger, she has a responsibility..._

_A responsibility to those she's made promises to!_

_She has already freed us from the Anti-Spirals' control. Is that not all we can ask for?_

_I just want to see my family again!_

_We mustn't be selfish._

_I don't want to die!_

_But we are already dead..._

 

* * *

  

Yoko, Gimmy, and Kittan sat at their usual meeting, looking over progress reports from various parts of the ship. Despite the loss of manpower, everything was going smoothly; repairs on the interior were moving forward, backup drives for the computers had been installed all around the ship, and Leite reported that the Gunmen were in top shape. As expected, the main point of worry was Leeron.

Yoko chewed her lip. Considering how frequent his transmissions had been lately, for him to suddenly be so silent was definite cause for concern. From what they could observe, the colony still seemed to be in one piece, so if there was a problem, it was probably internal. Maybe something happened that kept him preoccupied the last two weeks? Or maybe...

Kittan and Gimmy shared a glance before trying their best to reassure her.

"Don't worry, Yoko. I mean, no news is good news, right?"

"Yeah, he's probably just lying low."

"I guess..."

But equally troubling was the fact that now, they had no way of knowing how close the other Spiral races were to launching an attack.

"Just in case, I think we should play it safe," Gimmy said, "and go into battle as soon as Nia's body is ready."

"I agree," Yoko nodded. "We can't waste any time. That's our deadline."

"Right. So, Kittan, weren't you checking in with her? How long do you think we have?"

"About that..." Kittan fidgeted. "I went to look at it a couple days ago and, well..." He made a face. "It looked kinda gross. And guess I must've said so out loud, cause...Lord Genome told me to get out. Haven't gone back since."

Gimmy snorted.

Yoko just rolled her eyes. "Clearly, this requires someone with a little more tact. I'll go next time."

Kittan raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"Sure, why not?" She needed to get her mind off things anyway. And considering that promise she made to Simon...it wouldn't hurt to become a little more familiar with Nia.

So after the meeting, Yoko made her way to the main computer room and knocked on the door. "Nia, it's me, Yoko. Can I come in?"

For a while, she heard nothing. Then the door opened, and Nia stood in front of her. "Yes?"

"I'm just here to check in and see how your new body is doing."

Nia said nothing, but stepped back, allowing her to enter. Yoko followed her to the tank.

"Wow, it's...really coming along."

Now she knew what Kittan had meant by 'gross.' Looking at the growing body, Yoko was strongly reminded of the time they'd discovered the ruins of the Beastman Incubation Chamber. The place had been strewn with the decaying, half-formed bodies of infant Beastmen, their pods destroyed during the battle and subsequent collapse of Teppelin. Even just remembering it made her feel sick.

This wasn't nearly so bad, though. The body had formed enough by now that it was recognizably human, and recognizably Nia, even down to its apparent age and long hair.

The body was also completely nude. Good thing she came instead of Kittan after all.

Beside her, Nia was looking at the body too, with a slightly perturbed expression. Yoko couldn't blame her. If _she_ saw an exact copy of herself floating in a tank, she'd find it creepy too.

Yoko cleared her throat. "So, uh...have you thought about clothing?"

"Clothing?" Nia blinked, as if that had never even occurred to her. "...Do you suppose it is necessary?"

"Well, if you're going to live as a human again..." But then Yoko paused. "Wait, don't tell me...you didn't go around naked all the time when you were a human, did you?"

Nia shook her head. "I wore clothing then. In fact...I once knew how to make my own dresses."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. An old Beastman taught me." She looked down at her hands. "...But I am very much out of practice..."

"Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to make your own clothes or anything. We have some extra clothing that you can pick from, if you want. It's not much, and I doubt we'll have anything pretty...just finding something in the right size might be the best that you could hope for, but...would you be interested?"

"That would be fine, thank you."

Yoko led her out into the hall. As they walked, Yoko glanced at her.

Was she just imagining it, or did Nia seem a little colder...more Messenger-like today? She did tend to revert sometimes. Or maybe she was just lost in thought. Yoko wasn't exactly confident that she could read the girl correctly yet.

The room where they kept the spare clothing was a storage room like any other, except this one was filled with several crates full of haphazardly assembled piles of clothing. Only the uniforms were properly folded and stacked.

In the last few years, what people wore was really the last of anyone's worries on the ship, and producing more than necessary was largely considered a waste of resources. The uniform standards also became noticeably slack when Rossiu left for the colony and Simon took over. As a result, most crew members either wore uniforms, pilot suits, or a thrown together mix of those and civilian clothing.

"Let's see, this crate has spare uniforms, this one has pilot suits...these are clothes some of our younger pilots outgrew; they're probably too small for you. You can find undergarments over there, and...oh, we have adult-sized civilian clothing over here; this should have more variety."

For most of the crew, what little civilian clothing they owned were simply the clothes they had on their backs when escaping Earth; people who'd evacuated early enough to pack belongings, or who managed to visit the colony long enough to buy clothing, had a bit more. But the rest of them had to scavenge whatever was left behind from people who passed away. And people were always passing away...

Yoko lingered over that crate for a moment, spotting a few articles that looked vaguely familiar. Then she shook her head and turned away, wandering over to the last crate in the room.

"And these are clothes that were scattered in the rooms of the ship when we first found it; left over from Lord Genome's era, we think. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't rotten away...maybe because they were in space so long. Anyway, it's interesting to see what they wore back then, and imagine who they belonged to. Though I guess since they were your father's comrades, he'd be able to tell you if you just asked, huh?"

Yoko realized she was rambling. But she didn't have much choice; Nia wasn't saying anything and she felt a need to fill the silence.

Nia just nodded as she sifted through a stack of uniforms. But her heart really didn't seem to be in it.

Yoko was suddenly reminded of the time she'd dragged Simon in here. It was shortly after Taboo- Boota- had turned humanoid, and expressed a desire to wear clothing like everyone else. Back then, Simon and Viral were both still wearing their prison uniforms, despite their sentences having long been lifted; exasperated, Yoko pushed them into coming along.

Where Taboo had immediately gravitated to the uniforms, Simon had flat-out refused wearing another uniform again, leaving him with little options. He too had shuffled through the piles of clothing wearing a blank, disinterested expression, until he finally stumbled across something that 'felt right.'

"Come to think of it...I'm pretty sure Simon scavenged his outfit from this crate."

Nia put down the uniforms and came over to look. Yoko smirked.

They rummaged through the crate in silence for a while. As they did, Yoko glanced at Nia again.

As she'd thought, something seemed to be bothering her. Maybe the nerves were finally getting to her? For a normal person facing impending death, that wouldn't be unusual. But then, Nia wasn't a normal person.

Nia's hands paused in their search. "This..."

"Hm?" Yoko looked at what she had found. "Oh. Well...if you're looking for something nice, that's probably the best you'll find."

Yoko almost wondered why no one else had nabbed it before, but then, who wanted to go about their daily lives wearing what was practically a nightgown, especially in the middle of a war? It certainly wasn't to _her_ taste. Of course, Nia used to be a princess when she was human...maybe she just had a preference for dresses.

"Want to try it on?"

Nia hesitated. "Do you think it would look strange...um...on a Messenger..."

"We won't know unless we try, right?"

Still looking unsure, Nia nonetheless pulled it on.

Yoko had to admit, it _did_ look odd; the black skin and pink lines on her body showed clear through the white material. But if she tried to imagine her as a human...

"Yeah, I think it looks good. Size seems to fit. What do you think? Is it comfortable enough?"

Nia looked distinctly uncomfortable standing there in the dress, but she nodded.

"You know...I'm not trying to force you into this or anything. If you really don't want to..."

But she shook her head. "It's not that. It's just..."

"What?"

Nia took a deep breath. "Yoko...may I ask you for some advice?"

Yoko blinked. "Sure. What is it?"

Nia gripped the material of her dress. "Let us say...you have made promises to two people. The first promise was made a long time ago; the second, a little more recently. However, it is only after making the second promise that you realize you may not be able to keep both. Both promises are very important. But...they are contradictory."

She looked straight into Yoko's eyes. "What would you do?"

Yoko furrowed her eyebrows. Did she need to be so vague? It must be a private matter that she didn't want to discuss fully. "Well, without knowing what the promises _are_ , all I can say is...I guess I'd just have to apologize to the second person. It's too bad, but the first promise should come first. Otherwise, it's just not fair to the first person. Right?"

Nia was silent, her expression blank.

"...Does that help?"

"Yes...I suppose it does. Thank you." Nia swayed on her feet.

"Hey, are you okay?!"

"It is just...a slight headache..."

"Maybe you should sit down." Yoko dragged an empty crate over and helped her sit. "Is it because of the Messengers?" she guessed.

Nia nodded.

"Are they giving you a hard time?"

Nia let out a sob. "I cannot blame them!"

Yoko watched, stunned, as she broke down crying. At once, she knew this was serious; the girl looked absolutely heartbroken.

She quickly tried to piece things together. The second promise Nia referred to was probably the promise she had made to the Messengers. And the first promise...she had a hunch it had something to do with Simon. They had mentioned a promise before, back when she'd tried to kill him; whatever it was, it had been important enough to make him cling to life against all odds. And if Nia felt she had to choose between him and the Messengers...that would certainly explain her conflict.

Yoko put a hand on her shoulder. "You know...if this involves Simon, maybe you should try talking to him about it? I doubt he'd want to make you choose, if it hurts you this much. And who knows, you might be able to work things out."

Nia nodded through her tears. "But..."

"But?"

"I'm afraid," she whimpered.

"Of what? Talking to him, or..."

_"Everything!"_

Again, Yoko was taken aback by her outburst. But soon she smiled. "It's okay, Nia. That's normal. It's normal to be afraid, especially in this situation. Believe me, we're all scared out of our minds."

Funny. For some reason, she felt like she was talking to one of her old students...

"But you know you can't let that stop you, right? Not if it's important."

Nia nodded again.

"Don't worry. I know you can do it." She hesitated before going on. "...Believe in me who believes in you."

At last, Nia wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you," she sniffled.

Smiling, Yoko helped her back on her feet. It was a little embarrassing, invoking those words, but she was glad that it had provided at least some comfort.

But...this might prove to be a problem. Simon and Nia were the biggest pieces they had in this battle. She didn't want to intervene if it wasn't necessary, but with the situation being as dire as it was already, they couldn't afford to have anything else go wrong.

Yoko made a mental note to keep an eye on them from now on.

 

* * *

  

Two days later, everyone gathered on the main bridge. Lord Genome had announced that morning that Nia's new body was finally complete. And so, it was finally time to take a look at the so-called Great Dimensional Waterfall.

Having put in the coordinates that Nia had given them, the operators made the necessary preparations.

In the meantime, Yoko glanced at Nia. Just from looking at her, not much seemed to have changed. If anything, she seemed even more quiet and distant today. Hadn't she talked to Simon yet? What was taking her so long?

She glanced at Simon. Surely he must have noticed something was wrong? But then, he seemed to have something on his mind too, staring out at the stars and sighing intermittently.

What the hell was going on with those two?

"Everything is ready!" Cibela announced. "Your orders?"

Yoko exchanged a glance with Gimmy and Kittan and nodded.

"Commence warp!"

The ship jumped into a warp. When they reappeared again, however, it wasn't at first apparent whether they had even traveled very far. There were no noticeable landmarks nearby, no planets, no star, just black space and clouds of interstellar dust all around.

They looked around for a moment before Gimmy finally said what was on their minds.

"Uh...I don't know what a Great Dimensional Waterfall is supposed to look like, but...I don't see anything."

Nia pointed. "There it is."

"Where?"

It was a spiral of green gas, almost resembling a miniature galaxy. If she hadn't pointed it out, it would have been easy to overlook as just another small nebula.

"Fire upon it and you will see."

And so they did.

Immediately, the attack started a powerful chain reaction. Space seemed to crack and split, opening into a vast dimensional rift. From beyond, gases of every imaginable color began to stream out.

"Whoa..."

"I can't believe it," Taboo muttered. " _This_ is what we've been looking for this whole time...?"

Yoko shook her head. It seemed almost too easy; but of course, they would have never found it without Nia's help.

"You think they noticed that?" Kittan asked, eyebrow raised.

"We have come knocking at their door," Nia said. "They most certainly have."

"Wha...why'd you tell us to do that then?!"

"Do you think they'll try to stop us?"

"I doubt it. It would be to their advantage once we enter Super Spiral Space. They are most likely lying in wait."

"Great..."

Meanwhile, the dimensional rift was already repairing itself. The stream of multicolored gas came to a halt as space closed up around it again. Assuming it lasted that long each time, Yoko estimated they would only have about a minute to enter through it.

The gas dissipated, blending into surrounding nebulas. Once again, it was as if nothing was there.

"Well, at least we've got that figured out. What's next?"

"Next is..."

"Leeron," Simon said, turned to the operators. "Is there still no word from him?"

Cybela shook her head sadly. "No. Still nothing."

The deck fell silent.

"Well...so what if he did get caught, huh?" Kittan said, trying to liven the mood. "What's the worst that could happen? He'd just be told off, right?"

"I'm sure Rossiu would understand once he explains the situation," Gimmy nodded.

But Simon scoffed. "Are you kidding? This is Rossiu we're talking about. Leeron doesn't have a chance."

Gimmy frowned at him. "That's not really fair."

"You weren't there when we made the agreement. He was dead set on having no contact. If he thinks he has to make Leeron into an example, he'll do it."

"You don't give him enough credit! He knows what's most important, and that's ending the war! Why do you think he made you captain in the first place?"

"And he made it plenty clear just how much he regretted _that_ decision. Believe me, right now he'd rather just hide out on that colony than take any more risks. For all we know, Leeron might be on death row even as we speak."

"No way! Rossiu's always looked up to him! He wouldn't do anything that serious! Besides, Leeron's too valuable. Humanity _needs_ him."

"That sure didn't stop Rossiu from sentencing me to death."

"Would the both of you just shut up?!" Yoko snapped.

They stopped arguing. "S-sorry," Gimmy said. Simon looked at the floor.

They were all pretty tense when it came to this topic, Yoko not the least among them. Leeron was as close as family to her, but she shared just as much blame for relying on him.

It had just been such a relief to see another familiar face again, and they'd needed his help so much. They ended up treating him almost like another member of the crew, when in fact, he was light years away, and operating under great risk. And of course, Leeron never complained, never let on if he was in danger of being found out. They should have been more mindful of his circumstances. They should have been more careful...

Amid the gloomy atmosphere, Kittan spoke up. "Come on guys, we need to move on. Let's focus on what we _can_ do."

He was right. Worrying would get them nowhere. And Yoko knew that no matter what happened to him, Leeron would want them to continue the mission as planned. Otherwise, he would have risked it all for nothing.

"Right. So, Nia...your body is finished, right? Can we go see it?"

Nia looked away as she answered. "...Yes."

 

* * *

 

As they filed into the main computer room, Yoko was relieved to see that Nia had already dressed her new body. It lay on a cot they had prepared for it in front of the two tanks, wearing a white sleeveless dress. It lay still, almost doll-like but for the slight rise and fall of its chest as it breathed.

When Simon saw the body, he froze. "What's with the dress?" he blurted.

Yoko gave him a dirty look. "What, you'd rather she be naked?"

"N-no, not exactly..."

"I'll have you know, she picked out that dress herself."

"O-oh, she did?"

She clicked her tongue. "Honestly, I can't believe you. _That's_ the first thing you say?"

"It's just not something I'm used to seeing, okay?!"

Yoko turned to Nia. "Don't listen to him. It looks wonderful on you."

But Nia just stared at the body, not paying attention.

"Wow, that's...pretty impressive..." said Gimmy.

"Yeah...it really looks just like her," Kittan agreed.

"Of course it does," Lord Genome said flatly. "Who do you think I am?"

Yoko glanced at Simon again. He had a complicated expression on his face, as if he didn't really know how to feel. Maybe she shouldn't have been so hard on him. This was an awkward situation, after all. Here was the Nia he would come to know in the future, the result of all his efforts- but right now, she was still just a hollow shell. How was he supposed to treat her, especially with the current Nia standing right beside him?

Alright, she would cut him a little slack.

"So everything looks good here. How about you?" she turned to Taboo. "Are you ready?"

Taboo sighed wearily. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. I don't think I can survive another training session."

"Simon? What do you think?"

He shrugged. "I doubt another day or two would make much difference at this point."

"Well, in that case...if we're all prepared..."

Someone had to say it. The issue with Leeron only helped put things into perspective. They couldn't drag their feet at this. There was too much at stake.

"...We go into battle. Tomorrow."

 

* * *

 

_Tomorrow. Tomorrow._ The word rang about in her head, echoed by all the voices of the Messengers.

For two days now, Nia had tried and tried to express her worries, but could not find the right time, or the right words. And now, there was no time left.

Yoko shot her a meaningful look, and Nia knew what it meant. She was giving them the rest of the day to work things out. If she hadn't talked to him yet, she'd better do it now.

With everything decided, Yoko, Kittan, and Gimmy left the room. Boota looked to Simon. "So...now what do we do?"

Simon put his hands in his pockets, looking at the floor. "Nothing. Your training is over as of now."

"Really?" Boota blinked. "Is there nothing else you can teach me?"

Simon spoke in a lifeless voice. "Stamina. Endurance. Focus. Those are all things that you need, but the only thing that makes a damn difference in the end is fighting spirit. So just take it easy and save your strength for tomorrow."

Boota hesitated. "Then...I suppose you won't mind if I go take a nap?"

"Go ahead."

Boota practically dashed out of the room. Now it was just her and Simon.

Simon sighed, then headed for the door as well. "Come on, Nia. Let's get out of here."

She had to tell him now, or never.

"Wait!"

He stopped before the door.

"There's something...I've been meaning to ask you..."

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked, still facing away from her.

Nia quickly tried to sort out her thoughts, figure out the best way to phrase it, but the Messengers distracted her, half of them urging her on, the other half begging her to stop. She shook her head to no avail. "Please...be quiet..." she whispered.

"What?"

"N-no, I don't mean you..." Nia heaved a frustrated sigh. Her heart pounded. She had to get this over with. And so, with her thoughts only half-formed, she began.

"Simon...if I die tomorrow, I just want you to know that it will be okay. I won't have any regrets."

Simon's back stiffened. But as seconds passed, he made no other reaction, so Nia went on.

"I've lived more than enough already. More than I deserve. So if it comes down to it, I know I will be satisfied..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

Nia paused. Looking at his back was painful. Her gaze wandered, first to the floor, and then to the cot where her new body lay. She went to stand next to it, looking at the blank, doll-like face.

"...By the end of tomorrow, I will have experienced death two times. This will be my third body. My _third_." She touched its hand. The skin was cold, but at the wrist, she felt a pulse beat. "A normal person only has one chance at life. Why do I deserve so many? And I've done so much harm in my life...it doesn't seem fair."

"That's stupid. You didn't have a choice the first time. It's not your fault the Anti-Spirals rewrote your old body and gave you a new one."

"Yes, but this time, I _do_ have a choice. Don't I? So shouldn't I choose what's right?"

This time he didn't answer.

She bit her lip. "I only want the same chances as anyone else. I never asked for more..."

For a long moment, Simon was silent. Then he spoke again, voice eerily calm. "Nia...are you having second thoughts?" He slowly turned to her. "Because that's what it sounds like."

Now she regretted saying anything at all.

"You're the one who wanted to do it this way, remember? _You're_ the one who wanted a new body."

"I know," she said. "And I still think that is the best way. But..."

Another tense silence passed.

Then abruptly, Simon strode over and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "For god's sake, Nia, this is _your life!_ Don't just throw it away!"

"What? Simon, I'm not-"

"Weren't there things you wanted to do? Places you wanted to go, people you wanted to meet?!"

"Yes! Of course! And I still do-"

"What about those other Messengers? You promised them!" He shook her.

"I know! I haven't forgotten about them!"

"Then why? We finally found a way for you to live...and you just want to quit before we can even try?! Why?!"

She'd seen him look this way, yell this way at her before. "Simon, I'm not saying that I _want_ to die-"

"Then what _are_ you saying? What would you have me do? What do you _want?!_ "

Nia took a shaky breath, trying to regain her composure. "The Anti-Spirals must be stopped. With that, I still agree. But otherwise..." She hesitated. "I don't want to break any promises. And I do want to live. But...I don't know what else to do!" She looked up at him, pleadingly. "If you would...if you would just be willing to let me go..."

His expression darkened. "And what if I'm not?"

This was exactly what she'd feared. "Then that is all the more reason why this plan is a mistake."

That statement hung in the air for a moment, before Simon let out a strained laugh.

Nia stared at him, confused.

He shook his head. "I just figured it out. The Anti-Spirals...they planned this, didn't they?"

"What?" What was he talking about?

He tapped his finger against her forehead. "It's those Messengers. They're just another trap. They _let_ you absorb them, so they could whisper suggestions into your ear. Poison your mind."

"...No! That is wrong! I know this may seem sudden to you, Simon, but I have had these thoughts for a very long time! The Messengers only share my worries!"

"And maybe that's their purpose! Maybe they were _meant_ to make you focus on them!"

"No!"

"How would you know?!"

"Because of the way you are behaving at this very moment!" She stomped her foot. "They would not risk upsetting you in this way! Can't you see, it is their _fear_ of you that allows me to live!"

"Then let them fear me! I'll give them plenty of reason to!"

_"No!"_ She wanted to cry. "Why? Why can't you understand?"

"Because you're not making any sense!" His grip tightened on her shoulders. "Risks are one thing, Nia! But I'm not going to stand by while you just throw your life away!"

"You're not..." She valiantly held back her tears. "You're not the only one who feels that way, Simon! It's true, some of the Messengers urged me to say this to you, but just as many of them urged me to stop! They're not what you say they are! Of that, I am absolutely sure!"

"...Then why didn't you listen to _them?!_ They'd be dying with you, Nia! I know you're not that heartless!"

Guilt stabbed at her heart. "I know...I know. But it can't be helped. This is our fate. And I know, that when it comes to it, they will understand..."

"Understand what?!"

"That there are things more important than us!" She took a deep breath. "That we are just a small part of a very large universe, and that sometimes, we must let go of what we hold dear for the greater good! It's not _right_ to risk everything for the sake of one person or one promise."

His gaze hardened. "What, this self-righteous shit again? I thought you were done being the Anti-Spirals' mouthpiece."

_"What?"_

"Look at who I am, Nia. Look at what I've _done!_ I've lost all right to stand on any moral high ground!"

"That doesn't mean you should keep using that as...as an _excuse_ to ignore what's right!"

"I don't care! I just want to protect what I can! That's all that I _can_ do!"

"I only wish that you won't endanger the universe in the process of saving me! Is that so much to ask?"

"Screw the universe! If I can't save you, what's the fucking point!"

She gasped. It kept getting worse.

"I'm _not_ going to let you sacrifice yourself for something that stupid. Don't forget, I made you a _promise!_ And I'm going to keep it!"

She held her breath. "...Even if it's against my will?"

"YES!" he shouted.

She flinched.

Simon's expression was desperate, but resolute.

She spoke again, quietly. "Why...why do I deserve to live, no matter the cost?"

"Because I say you do," he said simply.

"But that's...!" She wrung her hands in frustration. "You have no right to decide that!"

His eye flashed in anger. "Then if _you_ don't deserve to live, why the hell am _I_ still alive?!"

"Because...!" she began, but faltered. "Because...you promised..."

They both fell silent. Then Simon took a step back. "...I never thought you could be so selfish."

The accusation stunned her. " _I_ am selfish? Simon, if there is anyone being selfish right now, it is _you!_ "

He grit his teeth. "...Maybe I am! But I'm doing all this for _you!_ So you can't...you can't just change your mind like that...!"

And before she could say anything more, he stormed out of room. As the door closed behind him, she heard him mutter. "God...what was the point..."

Then she was left in the dark.

Nia felt sick. How? How could things have gone so wrong so quickly?

At the end, Simon had sounded more hurt than angry. She was hurt too.

Was it selfish to live, or selfish to die? Nia didn't know anymore.

She turned to her father, wiping her eyes. "Father, is he right? Am I being selfish?"

He took a moment to answer, as if he were considering the situation.

"Some of the blame for this may lie with me. When that fool was in doubt, I was the one who convinced him to take risks, no matter the cost. However, your concerns are also valid. I, too, grew to fear my fellow Spiral Warriors. And so, for the sake of the universe, I betrayed them. My daughter...will you follow the same path I once did?"

Her eyes widened in horror. "...No! That's not what I..."

But wasn't that why she was so afraid? Because she knew it might come to this. Because now, with her suspicions confirmed, she was forced to confront the question she had been dreading: What would she do, if Simon refused to stop? What _should_ she do?

Seeing her tremble, her father spoke again.

"One thing is clear: You cannot go into this battle with half-hearted conviction. That is the path to ruin and despair. The two of you must come to an understanding, whatever it may be, or else abandon the endeavor entirely."


End file.
